Star Fox: Deception
by Demo ODST
Summary: 2&1/2 centuries in the future,humanity has discovered that it is not alone in the universe. Less than a decade after tense first contact treaty is created with Corneria,humanity is plunged into war with these animal like races. Can the Star Fox team trust their new Human recruit? or is it their own government they should be wary of? Or is it something else entirely?
1. Chapter 1: Strange Beginnings

**YES! i have completed this story! for those returning, i have added rough two thousand words worth of brand new content, as well as an uncountable amount of added description and changes, several in every chapter. i may eventually add an authors note but this story is finished! but worry not, there will be a sequel! this portion is complete, but their story is not.**

**Now, For users new and old, i highly recommend you re read this story, or read it. as you do so, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, post reviews as you read this. anything that stands out, good or bad, TELL ME! this story is a 'practice' story, to give me ideas of what people like and what people hate, in hopes that i can get a real book published. anyway, i hope you all enjoy! oh and if you liked this story, recommend it to friends.**

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Fox leaned back in his chair, bored at watching sub-standard pilots go up against Krystal and Falco. His eyes were drooping when Peppy's grizzled voice jerked him awake.

"And our last candidate is a human by the name of William Hawkins." Peppy was an aging hare, mostly grey in color, but patches of his fur had started to turn white, particularly at the tips of his long ears and around his mouth. Fox was stunned for a second before he spoke, more curious than anything else.

"I thought humans stayed away from the Lylat system. Don't like the Cornerian Federation." Peppy shrugged as he responded.

"Well, apparently this one didn't. He flies a second generation Arwing. Has some very good recommendations but isn't real experienced, not as a pilot at least. He does have extensive ground combat training." Fox nodded as he sat up and looked at the Battle Monitor in front of them. He had never seen a human fighter pilot at work and he was genuinely curious about how he would fare up against his closest friends. Krystal, who was more than his friend, was a telepath, allowing her to read the mind of her opponent. Even though she wasn't the greatest pilot, she could give a tactical edge no one else could. Falco on the other hand, was an amazing pilot.

"Hmm, well, give him the all clear." Peppy nodded and he watched the screen, where the two green triangles marked as Krystal and Falco advanced on the one red blip. They were technically in a specialized simulator, set up in a hanger on the Orbital Gate space station. The simulator actually connected into the fighters themselves, using a scan to reveal the true capabilities of the fighter. Krystal's voice suddenly flooded the radio.

"Falco, I can't get a read on him. I can sense his presence but I can't tell what he's thinking. I don't get it, it's like his mind is blocked off!" Fox stared intently at the screen, his curiosity rising.

"Don't worry about it Krystal, it's two on one. We can beat this guy in our sleep!" the blips drew closer together until they were just out of weapons range. The red blip suddenly flipped and shot away from Falco and Krystal, letting the two of them catch up to him. Just as white lines appeared, marking weapons fire, the human started to juke and dodge, neatly avoiding every round. He shot into a nearby junkyard and they followed, trying to draw up a new bead on him. His fighter suddenly deployed flares just before disappearing off the sensors.

"Where did he go? Falco, do you see him?" Krystal's soft voice slipped out of the speakers as their ships started circling away from his last location as they searched.

"No, I don't, how the hell did he…" Falco's usually smooth voice changed pitch as the blip reappeared, right behind him. "Damn! He's on me!" a split second later, an X replaced Falco's blip. "Krystal, I'm out."

"What!?" there was complete shock in her voice as the human closed on her ship. She set up for a head to head, only to shoot past his ship. He was already facing the other way, set up to shoot after her and they took off on a wild chase through the junk. "Damn it, I can't shake him!" strangely, he wasn't firing, simply following her. White lances appeared and they slammed into not her fighter, but a piece of junk, blasting it apart. Krystal juked and weaved through, narrowly avoiding most of the debris, only to be caught by a missile fired around the debris. An X appeared over her blip and the simulation ended.

"Pilot, William Hawkins is it?" Fox's voice echoed slightly in the empty bridge. A voice he didn't recognize came over the radio in response.

"Sir, it's just Hawkins, sir." Fox hesitated for a second before he spoke.

"First, don't call me sir, second, welcome to the Star Fox team kid. Get yourself into the Hanger so we can get you sorted out." He clicked the radio off as he spoke to Peppy. "Well, I think he'll do. And I think he and Mira will be combatable fliers. She prefers the second gens too." Peppy nodded as he spoke.

"Agreed. Well, I think that's it for me today. Slippy is finishing off the drive core's tuning as we speak. Rob, you have the bridge." Rob's mechanical voice acknowledged and Fox followed Peppy off, waving goodbye on the elevator. The door opened and he stepped out, turning down the hallway and walking out into the hanger bay. Krystal's third gen Arwing was landing on its rack as Falco descended the ladder the flight crew had pushed up to it. Falco was a deep blue avian, the only spots of color on his tall gangly body being the red inside his eye sockets and the brilliant orange of his beak. He glanced around the hanger, seeing Mira underneath her second gen Arwing, tweaking the tuning on one of the thrusters.

"Hey Fox, the rookie is a little ways behind me. He had to grab his duffle bag." Fox smiled back at the vibrant blue vixen as she climbed down the ladder, smiling at him. Her thin muzzle and delicate features never missed the opportunity to catch Fox's eye, but nothing like the gem like turquoise eyes she had. Krystal's Heads Up Display rig was swinging in her hand as she practically leapt off the ladder to embrace Fox.

"Hey. What happened out there with your telepathy? You've never had a problem before." He pushed back from her enough to see her eyes as he spoke cocking an eyebrow at her. She shrugged as she responded.

"I don't know. Honestly. It's a first for me too. I'll go get Mira." She winked at him as she departed. He simply grinned, knowing she had literally read his mind. Falco wandered over as a second Generation Arwing gracefully drifted into the hanger. Second generation Arwings had a long, boxy fuselage, with two thick, almost immobile wings connected at the back that were in a permanently swept back position. The bottom two G-diffusers were level with the bottom of the fighter, the top two angling up and away from the fighter. This allowed actual landing gear to be easily installed on the fighter, located in the nose, and on each of the flat G-diffusers. Its landing gear lowered and the fighter gently set down on the floor. The fighter stood out in the hanger not just due to it's different design, but also given that its G-Diffusers' were painted the same grey as the body, unlike the sky blue G-Diffusers around it. The human pilot climbed out of the fighter as the cargo ramp lowered. He quickly pulled a duffle bag out and sealed the fighter. His brown hair seemed to stand in every direction after he tugged his full face helmet off, revealing his flat, semi-primate like features.

"Hawkins, over here!" the human glanced up at Fox before trotting over. There was something strange to Fox about seeing a face without fur on it. Even the primates of Venom had fur surrounding their face and across their bodies, but as far as Fox had been informed, Humans had almost no hair on their bodies what so ever.

"Am I correct to assume that you are McCloud? And you must be Lombardi." He held his hand out and politely shook both of their hands.

"You would be correct. That was some pretty impressive flying out there. Never seen anyone catch Falco with his pants down like that." Falco grunted as he glared at Fox, the faintest trace of a smile at the edge of his beak.

"Yeah, it was. I liked that trick with the flares. Never seen it before." Falco seemed genuinely impressed, something Fox knew to be extraordinarily rare.

"Thank you. Honestly, just hoping I'll get some decent work with this outfit. Been a little scarce for pilots these days." Fox smirked as Krystal and Mira walked over. Krystal brushed some of her violet hair out of her eyes as she spoke.

"I've never met someone I couldn't read while fighting. Shook me off quite a bit actually." He shook her hand as he spoke, again, just as polite as before.

"Hello, you must be Krystal. Don't feel too bad. I shoved you out. It's similar to locking away memories." He shrugged slightly before continuing. "And, if you would be so kind, you are?" Mira seemed to shrivel slightly as the conversation shifted to her. She was shy around strangers, and was a quiet girl without that. She had a very narrow short muzzle, almost as if you had combined a vulpine's and a feline's muzzles, and her fur was only a few shades darker than the human's skin. She had dark brown hair that fell down well past her shoulders and her deep sapphire blue eyes seemed to draw most people's attention. Her bushy tail flicked slightly as Fox spoke for her.

"This is Mira. She will be your new wingman, and you will share a cabin together. The other pilots are myself, paired with Krystal, Falco paired with that dark furred woman over there, Katt. The other two aren't in the hanger, Bill Grey, and Lucy Hare." The human nodded and shook Mira's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you. I hope we get along Miss." Her pointed ears fluttered with her tail as she spoke, her voice almost inaudible in the noisy hanger.

"Thank you, and likewise." Her smile was weak and the small group stood awkwardly until Fox finally spoke.

"Well, Mira, Krystal, would you mind showing Hawkins to his new bunk?" Krystal grinned as she spoke.

"Yeah, Hawkins, If you'll just follow me." Fox watched the three of them leave and Krystal stopped at the door.

_Just so you know, Hawkins is impressed with us. Apparently, he thought his reception was going to be less than friendly._ Krystal's voice seemed to come from inside his own head as he thought back.

_Krystal, you know how much I hate it when you do this, right?_ Her smile broadened as she continued to smile at him, waving goodbye.

_Yes. Love you!_ He rolled his eyes as she left, repeating her last statement in his head. Falco was about to trot over to Katt when Fox stopped him.

"Well, honestly, what do you think of our new pilot?" he grunted again as he responded.

"He's good Fox, almost as good as you. Plus, I think he'll be good with Mira. They are a lot closer together in age than most of the team. Might get her to start loosening up. Now I'm going to go chat up my wingman, unless you decide to stop me again." Falco trotted off toward his slender feline wing mate, making Fox roll his eyes again before thinking to Krystal.

_Meet back in our cabin?_ It toke a few seconds for her to respond, and he almost thought she hadn't been paying attention.

_I will Fox. Our two rookies are going to get along well!_

* * *

I followed the blue vixen through the halls of the ship, feeling almost out of place amongst all of the different aliens aboard. Although, I could barely hold back laughter at some of the individuals that passed. One looked like a saggy, depressed basset hound in a lab coat. My new wing mate seemed like a half fox, half cat. She was actually a very beautiful girl, for an alien. She was silent as she followed just behind me. I fought the temptation to ask about her parentage as Krystal suddenly stopped and spun, facing the two of us.

"Well, here we are! I'm sure Mira can show you around the room. I hope it's comfortable enough." I stepped through the door and pressed the light switch. There was a small desk on either side of the room, with a pair of chairs facing them. One of these desks was covered in all sorts of small nick-knacks, as well as a small picture frame. A single bed sat on either side of the room after the desks and the back wall was a screen and a second door leading into what I assumed was the bathroom.

_Hmm, bigger than my last apartment back on earth. _A voice that seemed familiar to me entered my mind, foreign and yet unmistakable.

_Well, it is a fairly nice room._ I glanced at Krystal and she was smiling.

"You like it." I nodded, simply confirming her statement. I dropped my duffel bag onto the empty desk and started pulling items out, starting with my blaster pistol and rifle.

"Why do you have those if you're a pilot?" Her voice was very soft, almost like a kitten made to speak. It was only the second time I had heard her speak as Mira picked up the long slender rifle. Most Cornerian infantry weapons were half the length of it.

"I was an infantrymen three years ago. Enlistment got cut short, medical discharge so I picked up stunt flying, and made a jump to dogfighting." She nodded as she gently set the weapon down. Krystal's voice returned to the room.

"Well, I'll leave you two be. If you have any questions about the ship, just ask Mira, I'm sure she will show you around if you like. Goodbye!" she stopped at the door and winked at me as her voice filled my mind.

_You hurt her, and I'll kill you with my mind._ I raised an eyebrow at her as I thought back, slightly confused as to why she would even say that to me.

_I won't. Now stay out of my head, Krystal. _She had stepped out by the time I had finished the thought and I didn't even know if she had felt it. I turned back to unpacking my bags quietly until Mira spoke.

"So you were medically discharged?" I nodded as I spoke.

"Yes. But it was a load of crap. Shouldn't have been. That was what, a year ago?" I shrugged as I pulled out my few civilian clothes and my old camouflaged uniforms. At the bottom of the sack was my old body armor and I set it beside my rifle. "Are there any combat simulators on this ship?" I sat in the chair as I spoke, spinning it to face her siting on her bed.

"Um, I don't actually know. I've only been on here about two weeks. I'm not a very good pilot." Her entire body seemed to sag as she spoke. I watched her curiously.

"If you weren't good, then why are you here?" She just stared at the floor, not even looking up as she spoke, a hint of shame in her voice.

"I don't know. My parents were pilots with the military. They were both killed over the Aparoid home world three years ago. I think Fox just toke pity on me and let me join." We both stayed silent as the ship suddenly lurched, undocking from the orbital gate. "Why did you want to know if we have simulators?" I glanced up at her as she spoke.

"Want to see how you fly. Help me work with you." She nodded and silence filled the air again. The light in the room suddenly glowed yellow as an alarm went off, accompanied by a mechanical voice.

"All pilots, report to the bridge immediately. Repeat, all pilots, to the bridge immediately!" we glanced at each other and I smirked at her.

"Well, looks like I'll know shortly."


	2. Chapter 2: Calm Before the Storm

Fox was about to open the door to his cabin when a klaxon alarm went off, followed by Rob's voice. He sighed as he turned back down the hall to the elevators. The door opened to reveal Krystal in the elevator and he stepped in. she smiled to him as the door sealed again.

"Any idea what's up?" Fox shook his head as he responded.

"Nope. Guess Rob found us a job or something." He shrugged as they stepped off the elevator. They were two of the first ones on the bridge, only Peppy managing to beat them. He sat in his command chair as the rest of the pilots slowly trickled into the room. Hawkins and Mira were the last two to enter, Hawkins fading into one of the corners. "Well Rob, what do ya got?" the lights dimmed as the holographic projector warmed up, showing a map of the Meteo Asteroid field. A small red X was placed in one of the many safe passages through it.

"General Pepper requested that the Star Fox team investigate a section of the Meteo asteroid field. Bringing up sensor image." Rob's mechanical voice filled the room as the screen zoomed in on the area. "A group of pirates have been raiding ships in this area. The whereabouts of their base is currently unknown." Peppy spoke up, manipulating the screen as he did so.

"We could use the Freighter we have as bait. Have a group of fighters escorting from the asteroids themselves. I know that could be dangerous, but it may lure them out, then we force their forces to retreat, and we follow them. The Great Fox would act as the reason for the retreat." Fox stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched it cross the screen. The freighter had acted as a jump ship while they rebuilt the Great Fox.

"Alright, Peppy, you and Rob operate the freighter. Falco, Hawkins, and Mira, we will fly escort. Bill, I want you to lay low, just flight systems and passive scanners. Follow them. When they stop, return to the ship and report. Am I clear?" the room seemed to nod as one as he spoke. Krystal seemed to be the only one in protest. She was glaring at Fox and he felt guilt rising up in his stomach. "Alright, Star Fox, move out!" he shouted these last few words and the entire team marched off the bridge. Krystal stopped him just off the bridge.

"Fox, what is going on?! This is the third mission in six months that you've put me on reserve! And we have had only three missions!" he shifted his feet as he spoke.

"I want to see how Hawkins and Mira work together. And I don't want all my money in one pot. Okay?" she continued glaring at him as she spoke.

"So how come you always take Falco and leave me here? You know that you two aren't half as good as when we work together!" Fox started marching toward the elevators.

"It's nothing Krystal! Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Because you already have! I know it's because you are scared I'm going to get hurt!" Fox yanked his arm out of her grip and continued toward the elevator.

"I'm not scared of you getting hurt. You have your orders Krystal." He pressed the down button on the elevator and he barely heard her final comment.

"Fox, please don't lie to me. We both know that's not true." As soon as the elevator started down, he cursed and slammed his fist into the wall.

* * *

Mira finished her preflight checks and startled when Hawkins's voice buzzed into her HUD rig's earpiece.

"Comm check, alpha, bravo, Charlie, delta, over?" she smirked, knowing this was the military way to check your communications equipment.

"Hawkins, don't worry about being all military about this. Were mercenaries, remember?" she finished her checks by firing up the HUD interface as he responded.

"Yeah well, that's what I was trained with. And you're comin through loud and clear." She smiled as she watched the door. Fox for some reason hadn't entered the hanger yet. He suddenly rushed in and climbed into his third generation Arwing. Falco's voice followed over the radio.

"About time McCloud! What toke you so long?" Fox's fighter powered up and rose off the clamp, about to shoot out of the hanger as Fox responded.

"Nothing Falco. All ships, launch!" Mira barely had time to react as she lifted her fighter off the plating and shot after the flight. Falco and Hawkins had managed to launch a split second after Fox. The group formed up as they vectored away from the Great Fox II. Falco flew off Fox's port wing, and Hawkins off his starboard. She was flying just off Hawkins's starboard wing herself. Fox gave the signal and Hawkins and herself split away from Fox and Falco. She followed Hawkins as he maneuvered through the asteroids, seemingly able to just flow through them. She tried to emulate his skill, but to no avail.

"Do you always fly like this?" she heard him sigh over the radio before he spoke.

"Mira, have you ever heard of radio silence? I mean, seriously?" she rolled her eyes as they continued through the asteroids. If she didn't have the Identify Friend or Foe system active, she would have never known where the small freighter was. She left her sensors in a passive mode, not actively scanning for threats, but still able to detect IFF signatures, and enemy scanning attempts. Hawkins fighter came to a stop and she watched as the freighter passed. She glanced at him, curious. She could just barely see his outline in the cockpit, holding a single finger to his mouth before pointing upward. She glanced up and saw the group of fighters floating above them, all powered down. The fighters powered on as she heard one of them speak.

"Come on boys! We got another catch!" she instinctively moved her hand to the throttle, about to follow, when she noticed Hawkins fighter still floating there. She didn't dare turn on her radio as she waited for him to move. At least two squadrons of small, disposable strike fighters had left the asteroids, vectoring in on the freighter. Green lances marked weapons fire from the freighter, and its small turret gun. One of the strike fighters detonated as a voice filled the radio.

"This is the freighter Hope, we need immediate assistance! We are under attack by unknown forces!" the voice sounded like Katt, who was supposed to still be back on the ship. She was about to fire her thrusters when Fox's voice echoed out of her earpiece.

"This is Fox McCloud of the Star Fox team. We are almost in visual range of you, will be there shortly, just hang in there!" she smiled, realizing his ploy. Hawkins gunned the engines and she followed. The two of them dived into the formation, but she didn't fire. She watched as at least three of the small strike fighters exploded under his fire. The Pirate's voice rang out over the radio as they started to pull away.

"All ships, retreat! We weren't hired to fight no Star Fox!" she brought her fighter to a stop as they pulled out. Hawkins fighter was just a few meters ahead of her. Fox's voice poured out of the radio.

"Star Fox to freighter, we cant provide escort beyond this. We gotta move on, are you good to go?" she floated to the freighter, glancing up and down the ship.

"One of those last shots tore through one of our G-diffusers. Were gonna head back, try to repair and try again later." There were small burns all over the ship, none of which looked serious.

"Alright, we can escort you to the edge of Meteo, no more." Katt acknowledged as they followed the ship out of the asteroids. She followed Hawkins as he landed in the Hanger. The two ships were going to meet elsewhere, in case someone was still watching. She set the fighter down, powering it down as she clambered out.

"You're not too bad, need some training, but the instincts and reactions are there." she shrugged, tugging her HUD rig off. Hawkins was leaning on the nose of her fighter, his helmet resting under his armpit. He had on a grey military uniform with some sort of thick black chest rig. It was covered in different equipment, from pouches, a hand held radio, and even some sort of beacon.

"I'm complete crap compared to you! The way you just flowed through those asteroids!" he laughed as he shrugged.

"It's just being familiar with the aircraft. I couldn't do that in Fox's Mark three, or one of the interceptors. Heck, doing it in yours would be iffy." She raised an eyebrow at him as he spoke. Her ear folded slightly as well, mimicking her eyebrow.

"We fly the same fighter?" he chuckled slightly as he responded, looking up and down her fighter, as if he could see the mechanics within.

"Every fighter is a unique entity. All are tuned differently, plus, I have some serious upgrades on mine too. Human based shield and reactor configuration, amped up cannons and power systems, stronger fusion torch, and stronger thrusters." She glanced at his fighter, almost confused. Other than the low condition of her fighter, they physically looked identical.

"Hmm, okay." He stared at her for a few seconds, almost as if he was confused.

"How long have you been flying?" she shrugged and pointed at the hanger exit.

"Not long, honestly, this is only my third time up in this Arwing." They began walking toward the exit as she continued. "But my dad gave me a few basic lessons in an old training fighter." He suddenly stopped for a second, seemingly stunned by her words.

"Really?" she nodded and they started to move again. "Damn, well, stick to it. You belong in the skies." She felt blood rushing to her cheeks as her tail flicked wildly behind her.

"Really?" they were stepping onto the elevator as he responded, already on their way back to their bunk room.

"First thing you should learn about me, is that I will always speak the truth. Doesn't mean I will always speak, but when I do, I'm not lying." She nodded, her heart feeling oddly light.

"Well, thanks for the information. Are all humans this… Noble?" he smirked as he shook his head, barely seeming to notice as he stripped the chest rig off.

"Anytime. And no, were just like you, come in all shapes, colors, and values. Now I'm going to assume this is my bunk, and get some shut eye. Night" she smirked as he slung himself onto the bed, still wearing a t-shirt and cargo pants. Her thoughts drifted vaguely as she changed into her night clothes in the bathroom. Before she knew it, she was slipping under her blankets and falling asleep.

* * *

Fox paced back and forth in the hanger, waiting for Bill to get back. The hanger had practically gone silent as he waited. A familiar hum entered the hanger as the interceptor gracefully floated in, landing on the deck plating. The interceptor was designed off of the third generation Arwing, using almost the same G-Diffuser system, but its wings were thicker, and locked back in a swept position. Its fuselage was also split half way down from the nose of the fighter, in between was a small version of the chargeable homing Plasma weapon off the first generation Arwing and a rotary plasma cannon. Two missile banks replaced the standard cannon mounts on the Arwing, turning the Interceptor into a pure dogfighter. One of the other differences was the much shallower range of motion on the G-Diffusers, able to fold to almost closed, letting the fighter physically land, much like the second generation Arwing. All of this, with the more powerful Ion engine, made it one of the fastest fighters on the market, even if it lacked in armor and firepower. Bill clambered out as he spoke to Fox.

"Well, I found them. They are working out of a mined out asteroid." Fox nodded to the grey canine as he gestured for him to leave the hanger.

"Does peppy know?" Bill smirked as he responded, tugging his flight helmet off. It had slots cut in it to let his floppy ears hang out of it, although, Fox had seen him in a rush, ram the helmet on without stuffing them through.

"Of course. Said he was already contacting Pepper." The two of them marched into one of the elevators and rode it up to the command deck. Once inside, Fox led the way toward the bridge, turning into the conference room, just across the hall from Peppy's cabin, and still a good way away from the bridge. Peppy was already inside, Pepper's silhouette on the holographic projector. General Pepper was a saggy skinned, long eared, brown furred canine, his red formal Military uniform always being the outfit of the day with him. His voice was thick and sounded almost like gravel being rubbed together as he spoke.

"Good timing Fox, as I was just saying to Peppy, we thought this base had been abandoned over seven months ago." Pepper's left arm was in a sling, and Fox knew his right leg almost didn't work, forcing him to use a cane to move. The Aparoid infection had permanently damaged them.

"So, what do we know?" Peppy answered, bringing up a map with a large asteroid in the center, and three angular Cornerian destroyers.

"They attempted to attack the base with three ships. They were forced to retreat, and their main cannons didn't even scratch the asteroid, and they believed the enemy was using transfer gates to move troops." It showed the simulated version of the small skirmish. "But the attacks stopped afterward and they assumed the pirates left." Fox flicked through the scan data as he thought, debating exactly what to do.

"What if we let the freighter make another run through the asteroids? Katt and Mira pilot, with two stowaways in a crate. Let the pirate's capture the ship, Katt and Mira eject, and the Pirates fly it home. Then we burst out and destroy the transfer gates while the rest of the team strikes the outside of the base. Maybe recover Mira and Katt too." Peppy nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"We would need a way to block your life signs. I'll get Slippy on that in the morning. I'd assume you will be dealing with the Gates?" Fox glanced at him before speaking.

"Yeah, and I'll bring Hawkins. Human infantry gear is supposed to be some of the best out there, and he has ground combat training." General Pepper broke into a coughing fit, lasting several minutes as he fought to bring it back under control.

"I trust you know what you're doing, Fox. I have the second part of the payment ready for when the job is done. I'm counting on you Star Fox. Pepper out!" his image faded out and Peppy disabled the projector.

"Well, we can iron out the details tomorrow. Let's get some sleep." Peppy nodded, saying good night as Bill followed Fox out of the door. They shook hands at the elevators, splitting separate ways down the hall. His door made a quiet rasp as he stepped inside. He froze for a second as Krystal sat up on the bed, still fully dressed.

"Hey Krystal." She grunted at him as he stripped out of his flight suit, storing it in his wardrobe across from their bed. He slumped onto the bed, strangely exhausted. Krystal's voice startled him.

"Well, do we have a plan?" he absently nodded as he stared at the ceiling.

"Yes. I'll fill you in tomorrow while we iron out the details. If you don't mind." There was a pause before she spoke, and Fox could swear he had heard the faintest trace of a sigh.

"Okay. Fox we need to talk." He rolled to face away from her, feeling blood rush up to his cheeks.

"Just get some sleep Krystal, we can chat later." She sighed as the bed rocked slightly. He heard her dresser open and she started changing into her night clothes. He felt himself drift to sleep, not even feeling her slip into the bed.

* * *

I shot awake, sweat pouring out of every pore in my body. My breath came in ragged gasps as I fought to bring it back under control. Faint images of bright silvery blue streaks still flashed in my mind. Mira's soft voice made me jump, slamming my head into the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" I nodded as I rubbed my throbbing head.

"Yeah, just a nasty dream. Nothing to worry about." I looked at her, confused for a second. Her body position seemed to point at her having been awake before me, and she looked absolutely exhausted.

"Didn't look that way. You thrashing about woke me up. Well, every time you even shifted position, it woke me up." I grimaced as I swung my feet off the bed, my eyelids feeling like they were made of sand paper.

"Don't worry about it. And I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a light sleeper, or I would've warned you." She shrugged as she glanced around the room, her gaze falling on the picture on her desk.

"I don't sleep much anyway. What was the dream?" I slowly tugged my boots on as I responded, trying to choose my words wisely.

"Nothing important. Just a nightmare." I shivered slightly as I stood and pulled an old leather jacket from the dresser, instantly tugging it on. She grabbed some clothes from her dresser and spoke as she stepped into the bathroom.

"Your body language says otherwise. Anyway, I think the cafeteria will be opening soon." I nodded as she disappeared through the doorway. My eyes fell on her desk, curiously scanning the items on it. One item in particular drew my eye, a hand carved wooden Earth wolf, standing half on a small boulder. It was amazingly well carved in precise detail that I doubted anyone but a human could I have done. I picked it up and turned it over in my hand, investigating it's every line and cut. "Do you like it?" I glanced up at her, hurriedly placing the sculpture back on the desk.

"I… uh yeah. It's extremely well made." Her tail flicked as she smiled.

"Thank you. My dad taught me wood carving when I was seven. Been doing it ever since." The faintest trace of a smile crossed her face as she scooped up the sculpture. "I made this almost three years ago. It was supposed to be a present but, well I ended up keeping it." there was a strong note of sadness in her voice as she spoke.

"Why a wolf though? I know one of the Cornerian races is very wolf like, but I don't really see why you would carve one." She frowned slightly as she spoke.

"I was never really popular amongst my peers. I gained an interest in the different animals in the Sol system, more just to pass the time. Wolves just call to me. The way they work as a team to take down larger and stronger animals. It's inspiring to me." She shrugged as I raised my eyebrow at her.

"You seem nice enough. I'm sure you have a good group of friends." She shook her head, a single tear sliding down her face.

"People like me are heavily frowned upon. I mean, well, Mutts. Being of two races. People have looked down on me my whole life. Used me, insulted me, said I would never amount to anything, that I was just a waste of fresh air." I smiled to her in as much of a comforting fashion as I could do.

"So? Don't listen to them. You are who you choose to be. Simple as that." She glanced up at me, a faint glint of recognition in her eyes.

"You sound a lot like my dad." I shrugged as my eyes wandered back to the carvings. A second piece stood out to me and I gingerly picked it up. It was of two Cornerians embracing each other, one looking like a much younger Fox, the other looking strikingly like Mira.

"What's this?" her ears fluttered and her tail swished as she seemed to simply shrivel up.

"Oh, um, that's nothing. Just an idle carving." I smirked at her as I set it down. I was about to wave her out of the room as she continued. "What is that a model of?" My eyes traced the line her pointing finger made in the air, following it all the way to the model Arwing on my own desk. It was the one thing on there that wasn't related to combat.

"I used to be a stunt pilot. That was our ship and colors." The craft was the same grey as the Star Fox teams Arwings, but the G-Diffusers were a deep blood red, and the Star Fox emblem was replaced with a dog skull with crossed swords beneath it.

"Oh. Ok. So flying is your past time?" I shrugged as I stepped out of the room, gesturing for her to lead the way.

"Not really. Only past time is making sure my gear is ready for my next mission. It's simple, don't have to think too much." I could feel her eyes on me as we stepped onto the elevator. "What?" she shrugged as she responded.

"I don't know, just seems more like your avoiding something." I stayed silent and stared at the wall. I absently followed her as she led the way to the cafeteria. We stepped inside and I was shocked to find almost thirty people sitting around the room.

"Is this most of the crew?" she nodded as we both grabbed trays of food.

"Yeah, the new ship has so many more systems and weapons that Rob can't handle them all. So Peppy suggested hiring a crew. A few mechanics that help out in the hanger, gunners, a few engineers and a doctor. Oh and Savannah, she's a chief, and really sweet too!" I glanced back at the cheetah like woman behind the counter.

"Makes sense. The last ship was lacking in a lot of ways." She raised an eyebrow at me as I spoke. "Well, she didn't exactly have any point defense systems, secondary weapons, anything other than the two bow cannons. Kinda pointless if you ask me." she shrugged as I spoke.

"If you say so. It worked for them for almost nine years so." I took a bite of the green hued eggs, surprised that it actually tasted like eggs, just thicker.

"Well, at least the eggs aint bad." She chuckled as she dug into her own food.


	3. Chapter 3: Trouble With Gates

Krystal sat in the briefing room with everyone else. She already knew the plan and it had its flaws but it was better than a frontal assault. The lights dimmed and the projector warmed up.

"Alright, we need to disable transfer gates in the asteroid. We can't get a good read on the set up but the best way to do that is from the inside. Hopefully target the main generator and blow it all in one shot. Myself and Hawkins will be the assault team. We do know that they have a few smaller warships, they may try to escape with them. Most of the team will be tasked with attacking those ships." Hawkins instantly raised his hand as Fox spoke.

"What's the insertion parameters and escape plan?" she glanced at him about to laugh until she remembered his recent past.

"Me and you will hide in a cargo crate Slippy rigged that will mask our life signs. Then Katt and Mira will pilot the freighter through the asteroids. They aren't as well known as the rest of the crew. When the pirates board, they will jump into the escape pod and run." Hawkins's hand was back in the air. "What is it now?!" she could see a small grin spreading on his face and she fought the temptation to read his thoughts.

"Well, if we are locked in a box, how will we know that our Trojan horse made it?" Fox was puzzled for a second as he responded.

"Telepathy is untraceable. Krystal will hide in her Arwing and watch us. Once in, she'll tell us. What the hell is a Trojan horse?" Hawkins looked around, looking for someone else who understood.

"Seriously, humanity has been accessible for eight years and none of you have heard the story of the fall of troy?" Krystal raised her eyebrow at him and he continued. "Thousands of years ago, Greece attacked Troy, two rival city states. Greece built a giant wooden horse and filled it with their best troops, then left it as an offering to the Trojan people as they falsely retreated. Leaving the victor a gift was a custom then. Anyway, when night fell, Greeks popped out of the horse and opened the gates for the Greek army. Trojan horse, get it?" a few others seemed still slightly confused but accepted the explanation as Fox grudgingly continued.

"Then, once inside, we will try to destroy the facility. Meanwhile, the others will destroy the ships that try to escape. Any REAL questions?" he glanced around the room, clearly irritated. "Alright then, move out!" the room emptied a lot faster than she thought it would, and she hung back to talk to Fox.

"Hey, be careful, okay Fox?" he nodded and smiled to her.

"Krystal, you know me, I'm always careful. Besides, I'll have Hawkins with me. And human infantry gear is supposed to be the best in the Galaxy. I'll be fine." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before marching out. She rolled her eyes and made her way into the hanger bay. She barely thought as she dropped into her fighter and fired it up. Within minutes, she was ducking and weaving through the asteroid field, feeling freer and happier than she had in months. She stopped the craft and shut the engine down as she reached the spot she was supposed to wait at. A life time seemed to pass before she felt Fox in the distance. She started the passive radar and watched the ship move closer, tracking its IFF signature. It arrived at the asteroid and she reached out to communicate with Fox, only to find his presence gone. She panicked as she powered her fighter on and moved closer. She reached the edge of the clearing and could feel life in the base, but still couldn't find Fox. Fighters suddenly rocketed out of the facility, zeroing in on her signature.

"Oh shit, I kicked the hornets' nest!"

* * *

I shifted on my feet, crammed up against Fox. Although the brilliant orange and white fox was smaller than me, it was still cramped inside the crate. He was just about the same height as me, but he had a slimmer build, better suited for a pilot.

"We would have so much more room if you hadn't worn that damn armor and rifle." Fox was in civilian clothes with just a small pistol on his hip. I was in my armor from the infantry, as well as my rifle and an assault pack filled explosives.

"I'm sure you'll be thanking me once inside." He grunted as we waited for Krystal's signal. Human infantry armor consisted of a black soft armored vest, with chest, back, and side plates. Shoulder plates hung off the vest, as well as thigh plates. All covered with various different camouflaged plate carriers. The helmet was also made of the same stuff as the plates, with an open face, although it covered the ears and had built in ballistic glasses that could be slid in and out of place. Currently, the plate carriers were just plain grey. The plates themselves were aluminum weaved ceramic with a rubberized heat absorbent coating. This made the armor lightweight, but effective against both heat and kinetic based weapons. Human blasters also worked differently. Both used a laser to create plasma, but human weapons used depleted uranium encased in a ceramic cartridge, versus hydrogen gas released in the chamber. Once heated, both weapons used magnetic rails to sling the plasma out of the barrel and into the target. Cornerian blasters were notorious for being ineffective at range due to accuracy problems. The bullpup design on human rifles as well as the longer length allowed it to have much longer effective ranges. I used special tungsten rounds that the core didn't fully ionize, making a solid projectile encased in plasma. These rounds were excellent against armored targets.

"Krystal?" Fox looked confused as he spoke. "I could swear I felt her for a second." I looked at him before starting to unlock the door. "What are you doing?" I finished dialing the lock as I spoke.

"Krystal may not be able to reach us in the asteroid. You said you felt her and given the way she speaks of you, I'm sure you are familiar with the way her telepathy feels." The door popped open and I gestured for him to go first. "Ladies first." I smirked at his glare as he drew the blaster and stepped out. I followed and was blinded by light from the cockpit. My glasses polarized to block the light and I moved through the cargo bay, clearing each room and passageway in the bay. I barely heard Fox's shout from the front of the ship.

"Hawkins, you really need to see this!" I trotted into the cockpit to find myself staring out at a landing pad covered in vines. The bright light was coming from the sun inching toward the horizon in the distance.

"Oh shit. That's why Krystal couldn't reach you." We watched a group of pirates walking toward one of the over grown structures, laughing.

"I think our plan went to shit." Fox leaned up against the console before he cursed and slammed his fist into it. "Damn it! Krystal and the others are going to attack that place and be swarmed under!" his head dropped into his hands as I booted up the computer systems. "What are you doing!?" I shrugged as I started hacking into their battle net.

"Seeing if they left any doors open. And they don't even have a password on their base WIFI. Either they are really stupid or think no one will find them. Or just have SDS." Fox stared at me for a second, confused. "Ah never mind. I gotta stop using human phrases." I shrugged as I searched the system for the base schematics.

"Find anything?" I nodded as I double checked.

"Well, they're using a fission based reactor. Highly unstable. Small charge and bye-bye base." Fox stared in disbelief for a second.

"But, that would mean the gates would shut down. We don't know where we are." I shrugged as I spoke.

"The bigger problem is this ships condition. Her warp drive is down, and I don't know if you can get it running again. Getting out won't be hard. The gates are their escape plan and if the base has a critical emergency, gates turn on. And these power couplings are designed to operate for three minutes, give or take, without power. That will keep the gate open." Fox nodded as he spoke.

"So we would have three minutes if we blow the reactor to get back to the ship and fly out." I shook my head as I spoke.

"No, I would have three minutes. This ship needs some repairs, and me moving through the base will distract them. I may know an Arwing mark two like the back of my hand, but that's about it." he nodded as I felt guilt rising in my gut. I knew the reactor would reach critical in less than sixty seconds after the charge went off, and there was no preventing someone from disarming the bomb.

"Alright. Get moving Hawkins. And good luck." I nodded and trotted down the ramp before looking back up it.

"I'm not the one who needs it."

* * *

Krystal ducked and weaved through the asteroids, chasing down one of the small strike fighters that were swarming out of the base. Strike fighters were small, lightly armed and unshielded. They made up for those down sides by being incredibly cheap to mass produce. She dove around an asteroid and fired a linked blast. The two plasma bolts tore the fighter apart as she looped back toward the base. Falco's voice rang across the comms.

"I know these things are weak, but this is a bit much, even for me." She grimaced as she shot after another fighter, checking her RADAR at the same time. If Falco was being swarmed under, things were a lot worse than she thought.

"Just hang in there Falco. Fox has never let us down before!" the fighter she was after burst apart as she fired. Two more dropped onto her tail and she shot into one of the denser areas of the asteroids.

"Well, maybe he didn't! What if Hawkins killed him!" she fought the urge to shout at Katt as she stopped the fighter in the space of a few meters. Her G-Diffusers started alarming by the time the two smaller ships rocketed by. She released the G-Diffusers and shot after them, blowing both apart in a single pass.

"Katt, I would've felt it! It's more like he just left or something. Hawkins disappeared too! We just have to hang in there! He'll be out in a bit!" she dived into a raging dogfight between Mira, Bill, Falco, and at least two dozen strike fighters. She killed at least three fighters just diving through, four more chasing after her. She ducked and weaved, trying to fire on those chasing her teammates while avoiding their fire. She knocked two of the fighters chasing Mira out as Mira veered toward Krystal. Their fighters passed just meters apart. She watched as three of her four followers disappeared from the RADAR, the fourth peeling off to be chased down by Mira.

"Well, I think you owe me one there Krystal." She rolled her eyes as she dived after another fighter.

"No, were even, did you not notice the two behind you?!" the fighter in front of her exploded and she veered away, chasing after a pair going after Bill. One exploded under her fire, the other detonated as Falco shot by. She could swear Falco was giving her a thumbs up as he did so, and knowing Falco, he probably was. She shot away, leaving the remainders to them as she joined Katt and Lucy. Both of them were being swarmed by almost four whole squadrons of fighters that had just arrived out of the asteroid base.

"Damn it Falco, where the hell are you when I need you?!" Katt's voice filled the radio as she shouted. She watched Falco peel off from his group and shoot after Krystal. Whether he admitted it or not, he did like Katt.

"Hold on babe, I'm coming!" she smirked slightly as she dove after a group of fighters. She managed to destroy three of them as she chased after a different group, intending to try and scatter the fighters. She almost crashed into an asteroid as she suddenly felt Fox again.

"Fox!" she veered around, shooting toward the asteroid base. The freighter came out of the asteroid as Fox spoke over the radio.

"Sorry I'm runnin late guys. We got sent through the transfer gate." Mira's voice rang out over the radio before Krystal could speak.

"See Katt, Hawkins didn't do a thing to him." There was a certain sadness in Fox's voice as he spoke.

"Hawkins isn't coming. He stayed behind." Mira shouted almost instantly.

"What!? As in, dead?!" the asteroid suddenly burst apart, almost in answer to her shout.

* * *

I slipped through the unlocked door. The hallways beyond were empty, so I slung my rifle and started walking casually through the halls, my left hand resting on the seven inch combat knife on my thigh. I rounded one of the corners and almost walked right into one of the guards. He turned toward me, a hand falling to his weapon.

"Oh shit, you must be one of MacDonnell's guys. But I thought he wasn't supposed to be here for another week." I couldn't see his face below the armor, but I could easily assume it was surprised. My knife slipped out of the sheathe and I slammed it into the ape's throat. I raked it across, severing the spine. The body clattered to the floor, and his buddy stepped out of a side door. He was stunned for a second as he saw the blood pooling around his team mate. My pistol came out of the holster and I fired a single shot into his chest. The pistol jerked in my hand as the slide rocked back and slammed forward, chambering the next cartridge. An alarm went off and I crossed the body, replacing the knife and pistol as I sprinted down the hallway. My rifle came up just in time as a three man squad rounded the corner. I fired a burst of rounds into the first two, the third being killed by the heavy tungsten slugs punching clean through.

"All personal, we have an intruder on base. All combat personal, find him! I want his head on a platter!" I grinned as I kept running, occasionally checking my map to make sure I was going the right way. I slid down a few flights of stairs and ran around a corner. Blue blaster bolts ripped past and I dived back behind the corner. I peeked around the corner, seeing the half dozen troops hunkered down.

"We got him pinned boys! Take him down!" I pulled a grenade out of its pouch, activated it and rolled it around the corner. There was a shout just before the grenade detonated. I rolled around the corner, easily lining the holographic sight up on the two survivors and firing a single round into each one. The door to the reactor was the only locked door in the whole facility. I aimed at the door panel and fired a trio of rounds into it. The door unlocked and I yanked it open. I stepped through and shot all of the techs then the cameras. The reactor loomed above me as I yanked a block of C-4 out of my pouch and rammed it on the coolant line. With out the slightest effort, I armed the detonator and ran out to trigger the charge. The wall shook as I tossed the detonator away and slumped to the floor.

"Fox, Gate should be on. Get going." Fox's voice sounded confused over the radio.

"Where are you? Those gates shut down in three minutes, you got plenty of time to get here!" I sighed as I responded.

"Those power couplings won't be here anymore in about sixty seconds. Reactor is going faster than that." He swore over the radio as a door across the hall opened. My rifle popped up and shot the two guards that came through.

"Damn it Hawkins! You planned this didn't you?!" I absently nodded as he continued. "I'm leaving. I'm sorry." I shrugged as I spoke.

"Don't be, it was me or you." The radio crackled for a second, like he was going to respond but didn't. Something metallic caught my eye in the open doorway. I stood and sprinted over, wrenching the tarp off of the Jet bike. I yanked out the gloves and faceplate that let me seal my armor and locked them in place before firing the bike up. "Great plan Will, send away the ship when there was a jet bike right next door. Just my damned luck." I gunned the engines and shot toward the vehicle bay doors. They had opened in the emergency, giving me a clear shot to one of the gates. I rammed the throttle down as the base's computer counted down to the reactor's destruction.

"Five, four, three, two." The gate was only feet away. "One" I slipped through the gate, flashing through the base and out a hanger door almost too fast to notice. I felt a massive wave of heat, even in space, looking back to see the asteroid base crumbling apart as the explosion ripped through the gates. My lower body felt like it was on fire as I drifted with the pulverized rock and metal

"Hawkins! Damn it you idiot!" Mira's voice rattled across the radio and I missed a few things that others said. I waited for silence to fall before I spoke.

"I know yall are a bit busy and all, but can someone tell me if my ass is on fire or not? Sure as hell feels like it!" there were whoops and hollers over the radio. I could barely hear Mira speaking.

"Will, you asshole, we all thought you were dead. Where are you?" I grinned as I leaned back, using my legs to grip the jet bike.

"Um floating around base bits. Need a lift." Krystal's voice broke across the radio next.

"Wait, how are you not suffocating, or freezing?" I rolled my eyes as I spoke.

"All UEC armor is sealable against biological and chemical attacks. Works as a _temporary _spacesuit. So if you don't mind, get your asses over here before parts start freezing off! I like my ten fingers and toes thank you very much!" I saw a strike fighter zeroing in behind Mira and I aimed my rifle without thinking. I squeezed the trigger and a sliver bolt lanced out. I didn't get to see if it connected as I started spinning wildly from the recoil. Fox's voice rang across the radio.

"Nice shot. Hawkins, if you ever try to sacrifice yourself again, I'll kill you myself." I grinned as Mira's Arwing slowed to a stop beside me. The nose of the bike slammed into her hull, stopping my spin.

"I'll check the door over for jet bikes next time!" her cargo ramp lowered and I wrestled the bike in before grabbing onto the extender. Cold was already starting to creep into my extremities.

"Go, gently. I'm holding onto the extenders out here." Her voice came back confused as the fighter jerked beneath my grip.

"Why aren't you in the bay?" she gently navigated out of the debris, a few bolts of light visible in the distance where a few dogfights were still going on around us.

"Well, I kinda like the jet bike, so I thought I might as well keep it. Ya know?" she sighed and I could just imagine her eyes rolling. Seconds ticked by as the cold kept spreading.

"Oh shit, I got bogeys on my tail, need some cover, now please!" I glanced behind us as two of the ships exploded. The pilot had swept in from above, a tactic Falco had always preferred. A third exploded as an Arwing swung in behind it. Weapons fire caused the Arwing to pull off, trying to shake its own bogey.

"Damn it, Hawkins hold on tight, I gotta take evasive maneuvers." Krystal's voice rang out almost instantly.

"Don't you dare Mira! I got him handled!" there was a flash of purple exhaust and I nearly missed the Arwing rocket past us, her G-Diffuser missing Mira's canopy by inches. There was one final explosion as Krystal's fighter pulled away. Cold was starting to spread to most of my body as I spoke.

"L-little f-f-ast-t-ter p-p-please. G-gett-ting a lit-t-ttle cold-d-d out-tt here." The fighter almost jerked out of my hands as we closed on the Great Fox's hanger bay.

"Oh, quit bitching down there." The Great Fox II somehow seemed a far more beautiful sight than it had been even just a day ago. She looked almost like the original, only shorter in height, longer in length, and her wings bent back instead of forwards. Mira's landing skids lowered as she gently set the fighter down on the deck plating. Gravity suddenly filled the hanger as air was pumped back in. I tore my helmet off and sent it skidding across the floor. Even the cold metal seemed warm as I lay there sprawled on the deck. Different hums filled the hanger as Arwings trickled in. Mira dropped onto the deck plating, crouching beside me.

"I'm angry with you. My first wing mate, and in two days you're already trying to get yourself killed. Tsk-tsk, you're going to have to do better than that." She was grinning as she spoke.

"Well, I admit, it wasn't my greatest plan. Though Fox runs away a little too easily. Toke almost no convincing." She laughed as she spoke.

"Alright. Well, if that bike is still in my bay when you leave this hanger, your ass is mine." I smiled as I weakly raised my arm.

"Alright. I think I may just rest here awhile. Sounds good, nice and comfy." I glanced at the bike and patted it as Krystal and Fox trotted over. "I think you need a name girl. Sally, I'll call you sally." I let my sore body flop to the floor as Fox spoke.

"So, couldn't replace a popped power cable when there was a whole box right there in the cargo hold?" I glanced up at them as he spoke.

"Well, I may have stretched that part a little bit." A malicious grin spread across his face as he spoke.

"Well, I think Slippy could use some help fixing the freighter. Or, more correctly, order around while he watches. I think that sounds like a good punishment for lying. Eh Krystal." She had the same smile on her face as she spoke.

"Oh yeah. But what's the punishment for saving your life?" he laughed as he spoke.

"Well, I'll have to think about that for a minute." His tone changed slightly as he spoke directly to me. "Why'd you do that Hawkins? Try to sacrifice yourself for me."

"In the UEC, we're taught to value good leaders. A good leader can turn the tide of a battle. You're a good leader Fox." An unspoken thought crossed my mind as I spoke.

_And I'm already dead anyways._ Krystal's tail flicked as the thought crossed, and her eyes flicking toward me. Her expression was grim for the barest trace of a second before it disappeared..

"Hmm, well thanks. And if you try to save my life again, I'm kicking your ass." I nodded and closed my eyes as my head dropped onto the metal deck. I felt a hand on my shoulder and my eyes opened to find Mira crouched over me.

"Are you alright? Honestly?" I nodded as I smiled up at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just sore. Not every day you ride a nuke through a gate ya know. Don't recommend it." her slightly curled hair seemed to perfectly frame her face as she smiled.

"Good. And I don't ever want to lose my wing mate, okay?" I smiled and nodded before letting my head rest on the floor again.

"I'm gonna take a nap now. Bye-bye." I weakly waved to her and let my arm drop onto my chest.

"Are you sure you're okay, you're acting kinda loopy?" I nodded, my voice feeling like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel.

"Yup. Just need a nap." And with that, I slipped off into sleep, blissfully unaware of the events around me.

* * *

Fox punched a few commands into his chair as the holo projector fired up. The bridge lights darkened as he waited for the call to be answered. General Pepper appeared on the screen, almost instantly speaking.

"Don't tell me that nuclear blast on Fachina was caused by you?" Fox smirked as he spoke.

"Sorry about that. It was Hawkins idea to detonate the reactor. But hey, no more pirates, right?" general Pepper chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, I can't argue that you don't get results. Payment is already being transferred to your account. Good job Fox. Pepper out." Fox grinned as he closed the comm line and stepped off the bridge. His feet carried him aimlessly toward the cafeteria until his wrist computer beeped. There was a inter ship message on it that he opened.

_Fox, me, you, training room. If you're not afraid of a little sparing match?_ Fox smirked as he read the sender, calling him back. An image of Hawkins at his desk appeared, his plasma rifle in pieces on the desk in front of him.

"Oh, hey Fox, so what do you say to sparing?" Fox grunted before he spoke.

"Well, are you ready to get your ass kicked?" Hawkins smiled as Mira moved into the image behind him, one ear canted to the side.

"Well, you should be asking yourself the same question. I'll just finish cleaning my M-thirty-two, then I'll meet you down there." Mira cut in before Fox could respond, her eyes darting between them.

"Wait, wait, wait, what are you two talking about?" Fox smirked as Hawkins turned in his chair.

"I got some dossiers on the Star Fox team a couple months back, says here that Fox is quite the martial artist, so I thought I would test that." Her jaw dropped as she stared at him.

"Are you insane!? Fox will mop the ring with your ass!" he just smirked as he turned back to Fox.

"She has so little faith in me. See ya in a bit then McCloud." Fox rolled his eyes and closed the communications line.

"Well, this will be fun." He grinned as he got on the elevator. The doors opened and he nearly ran into Krystal.

"Oh, Fox. What are you up too?" there was a stiffness to her voice as she spoke. He tried to smile to her as he spoke.

"Training room. Hawkins apparently wants to spar. Thought I might indulge him." An almost evil smile spread across her face as she responded, already following.

"Oh I have to see this." He rolled his eyes again as they marched off down the hall. "By the way, how did Hawkins do on the freighter?" he sighed as they continued down the hall.

"After he woke up, I only really forced him to work alone for fifteen minutes. Then me and Slippy joined him. He's actually fun to repair things with. The freighter still needs work though. Warp drive is still down. Gun turret fried while we were working. Won't be usable for a while." She nodded and silence fell between them.

* * *

Krystal followed Fox into the training room. Hawkins and Mira were already standing in the corner by the large hand to hand mat. A small group was standing around it, including Bill and Falco. The two of them seemed to be hosting betting. She trotted over to Mira as Hawkins handed her his leather jacket. Fox stripped his own jacket, leaving him in the tank top he wore beneath it.

"Who do you think is gonna win, Krystal?" she laughed, instantly responding to Mira.

"Fox, no doubt there." Fox had already assumed his combative stance, left foot slightly ahead of the right, hands loosely hovering in front of his neck. Hawkins seemed almost relaxed, his hands loose at his side. But his own left foot was slightly in front of his right, and he seemed to be bouncing loosely between his feet, so imperceptibly that she doubted that anyone else noticed it. Bill's voice rang out, the room almost instantly silencing.

"Alright, get too it you two!" Hawkins didn't move, his eyes fixed on Fox, almost as if he was beckoning him. Fox lunged forward, his left hand jabbing at Hawkins. Hawkins easily deflected it as Fox started a flurry of rapid strikes. Every single blow was easily deflected aside, and just after a botched upper cut, Hawkins slammed his on fist into Fox's chest, followed by a left footed snap kick in almost the same place. Fox staggered back, but managed to dodge Hawkins Right hook that followed. Fox's left fist slammed into Hawkins side. He staggered for a second as Fox lashed out with a right jab. Hawkins dodged it, clamping his arm down on Fox's wrist. His arm snaked around Fox's, using it as a lever as he placed his left leg behind Fox's, sending him to the floor. Fox barely rolled out of the way as Hawkins slammed his foot down where he had been. Fox was on his feet and suddenly jumped, summersaulting over Hawkins. As Fox landed, Hawkins lashed out with a backward kick, sending Fox sprawling. Hawkins dropped on top of him, placing one knee on each of Fox's arms.

"Kill." Hawkins voice was very calm and quiet as he let Fox up, offering him a hand. Fox accepted it and Hawkins tugged him to his feet.

"You just got lucky, round two?" Hawkins just nodded as Falco and Bill passed around winnings, Bill looking smug and Falco pouting.

"Alright, I bet you that Fox loses this round." Bill smiled as Falco rejoined him, almost right next to Krystal and Mira.

"Alright Falco, I got sixty that says Hawkins loses this one." They shook hands as Krystal leaned toward them.

"I bet four hundred that Fox wins this one." Bill's jaw dropped as Falco spoke.

"Alright, you're on Krystal!" Fox and Hawkins assumed their positions again, but this time, Hawkins matched Fox's, rather than the relaxed position he had been in. Fox nodded and the two of them lunged at each other. She could barely keep up as the two of them traded salvos of swings, all being deflected and blocked. Fox suddenly leapt into the air again, crouching and spinning as he hit the ground. His foot swiped at Hawkins legs. Hawkins barely managed to leap away, tumbling to his feet as he hit the ground. Fox was already moving to attack again as Hawkins swung his arm wide. His forearm slammed into Fox's chest, slamming him onto his back. Hawkins dropped on top of him again, only to land on fox's curled legs. Fox sent Hawkins sprawling as he extended his legs. They both leapt to their feet slowly circling each other.

"Getting faster, eh Foxie?" Fox glared at him, the faintest trace of a smile at the edges of his mouth. Both of them were sweating exuberant amounts as they panted.

"Oh, you want fast? Alright, you got fast!" Fox darted forward, sprinting just to Hawkins right. Just as he was about to reach him, he darted across Hawkins, dodging the right jab Hawkins had launched. Hawkins barely dodged the hook that moved with it, only to be caught by a left hook as Fox darted back across. Hawkins staggered, as Fox stopped and spun, dropping into a crouch and slinging his right foot into Hawkins shins. He toppled to the floor as Fox continued to spin and stood, lashing out with his foot as he came upright. Hawkins was sent rolling away as Fox dived at him. She could feel Hawkins jolt of pain at the kick as Fox and him tumbled across the mat. The two of them came to a stop, Fox on top, his fore arm pressed against Hawkins throat. He patted Fox's side three times, signaling him giving up. Fox jumped up, offering his hand to Hawkins. He accepted it as Falco let out a stream of profanities. `

"How the hell did you know Fox was gonna win that one Krystal!?" she chuckled as she waved him away, grabbing a pair of training staffs off the wall.

"Cause I know Fox. He always bounces back. Here, catch!" she tossed the training staffs to Fox, who passed one to Hawkins. Fox grinned as he twirled the weapon gracefully, bringing it to a sudden stop pressed up against his back, his empty left hand beckoning Hawkins forward. Hawkins gently bounced the staff in his hand, testing its weight. He suddenly slid his hand down the staff, griping it with his left above his right. His feet mirrored this, his left closer to Fox than his right.

"Alright Will, let's see what you got!" Fox lunged forward, swinging the staff out in a wide arc, letting his hand slip to the end of the weapon. Hawkins stepped forward, bringing his staff vertical and blocking the strike close to Fox's grip on his weapon. Fox was knocked off balance and Hawkins swung his staff at Fox's gut. Fox barely managed to dodge it and brought his staff into a defensive stance just in time to block Hawkins rapid follow up attack. Krystal shifted slightly as they ended up locked together. Fox shoved him back and started a flurry of rapid attacks. Hawkins managed to deflect them all, and caught Fox's leg with his staff as Fox kicked at him. Hawkins shoved upward with the staff, and would've sent Fox onto his back if he hadn't transferred into a backwards summersault.

"Damn, Hawkins isn't half bad with that staff." Mira had leaned closer to Krystal as she spoke. Krystal smirked as Fox deflected one of Hawkins attacks. At the next one, Fox made the tip of his staff make small circles in the air. As soon as Hawkins staff connected with Fox's, Fox rapidly widened the circle, sending Hawkins weapon flying out of his grip. Fox jabbed the staff at Hawkins, who stepped aside and snaked his arm around it. Hawkins shoved it back toward Fox just as Fox tried to tug the weapon out of his hands. Fox stumbled as Hawkins yanked the weapon out of his hands, whipped it around and slammed it into Fox's thigh. He crumpled to the floor as Hawkins brought the point to Fox's face.

"Not as good with the staff, are ya?" Fox smirked as Hawkins pulled him to his feet.

"Where the hell did you learn to fight with a staff?" Hawkins swiftly and gracefully spun the staff in his hand as he spoke.

"Mixture between training with the army, and a friend who was in the color guard." Fox shook his head as he scooped the discarded staff off the mat. Krystal narrowly avoided getting hit as he tossed it to her.

"Here Krystal, show him how a master fights." She grinned as she twirled the staff, resting it on her shoulder blades, arms wrapped over it.

"Alright, I'll go easy on the lady." Krystal grunted as he spoke and grinned.

"Be ready to get your ass kicked then." The same second that she finished the statement, she swung the weapon off her shoulders, extending it out as if it was a sword. Hawkins managed to deflect the weapon as she started her own rapid flurry of attacks. Her grip on the weapon constantly changed as she attacked. She suddenly stumbled as he lashed out with a fist, catching her arm. Before he could react, she was already swiping his legs out from under him with her staff. He was flattened as she jumped into the air, seeming to be propping herself up with the staff, just before kicking it out from under her and rotating, slamming the weapon down on Hawkins. Hawkins had barely been able to bring the staff up, blocking the blow with a resounding crack that made the whole room wince. She felt her legs suddenly shoot out from under her as he used his legs like a pair of scissors. Her own staff launched out of her hands as he snapped his own up. She felt the tip of Hawkins staff as she rolled away and up to her feet. Hawkins jabbed at her and she stepped to the side, jabbing her fist into his chest. He quickly swung his staff in a wide arc toward her. She jumped and rolled over the weapon, landing in a crouch. Her staff was lying just behind him. She spun on her hand, swiping his legs out from under him. She then leapt over him, grabbing her staff and cartwheeling to her feet. Hawkins was launching back onto his feet as she swung the weapon into his gut, spun it back around into the back of his knee, then kicked it up over her head, bringing it down right beside his neck.

"Told you so Hawkins!" he returned her grin and accepted her hand up. They placed the weapons back on the rack as Mira and Fox rejoined them

"Wow Krystal. Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?" her smile broadened at Hawkins praise.

"I have been fighting with a staff for most of my life. I had never even picked up a blaster before four years ago, when I joined the star fox team." he clapped her shoulder before leaving the room. Mira followed, hollering her good bye back to them.

"You're getting faster Krystal." She shook her head at Fox as he spoke. He was tugging his jacket back on as she responded.

"No, I just go easy on you Fox." He glared at her as the two of them marched out of the training room.

"Wow, just make me feel useful, thanks. Well, we have a weekend to plan. Our room?" she smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.


	4. Chapter 4: Civilian Priority

I slowly settled into my desk chair, rubbing my aching side. Fox's kick had left a very large, nasty bruise on my rib cage. It still ached almost three days later. Mira's voice made me jump and I turned to face her. She was stretching out on her bed, almost like a cat waking from a nap.

"So what are you going to do when we get to Corneria?" I turned back to my desk and picked up the small model Arwing, looking it over.

"Stop by my apartment, grab the stuff I missed. I'm paid through the end of the month so." I shrugged as I looked at the tiny print under the canopy. _Dan Marshall._ It was an exact replica of my old wing man's stunt fighter.

"What all are you grabbing?" I shrugged as I set the model down on the desk.

"Rest of my clothes, some tools. A picture, plus I gotta hit a storage unit. Ammo, Arwing parts, tools. Nothing real special. Gotta ask a friend to sell my old furniture. I don't think I'm going to need it." I heard movement behind me as Mira moved to beside me.

"Why didn't you already have your stuff sold?" I glanced at her before spinning the chair to face her.

"Because I didn't know if I was going to stay with this outfit. Only gave Fox my resume because someone else had already recommended me to him." She cocked her head at me, her tail flicking behind her.

"Did you think you wouldn't be good enough?" I shook my head as she sat down at her desk.

"Not really. What are you planning on doing?" she seemed to shrivel as she spoke, reaching onto her desk and grabbing one of the cravings.

"Meeting with someone who wants to reconnect. He's going to be in Corneria city for a few weeks for some entrance exams." I caught enough of a glimpse of it to know which it was.

"Let me guess, old romantic interest?" she shriveled up even more and her ears flattened on her head.

"Um, ex-boyfriend actually. We only broke up because of my parents deaths." She looked away, staring at the floor. A single tear slid down her cheek.

"You wish you two were still together don't you?" she nodded, wiping the tear away as she looked up at me.

"He's going to the Cornerian Flight academy right now. He is applying for command school as we speak." I was about to respond when a Klaxon alarm sounded, an amber light filling the room.

"All pilots, report to the bridge immediately, repeat…" I grabbed my flight harness and helmet and sprinted out of the room, Mira hot on my tail.

* * *

Mira rushed onto the bridge, right behind Hawkins. The rest of the flight team was already in there, and Fox was talking with general Pepper.

"Now that you're all here, we have an unknown contact at the edge of our defense radar. The Great Fox has the closest intercept, so I'm asking you to investigate. The ship is not scheduled and not transmitting any IFF signature." Pepper stopped while he coughed. "I'm sending you our LADAR scan now. Pepper out." The room stayed dark as an image of a long rectangular ship appeared on the screen. The front was tapered into a point, while the rear bulged out. There were three massive bumps along the hull of the ship, two above and one below. Hawkins almost instantly spoke.

"That's an escort carrier, United Earth Coalition design. Recent one too. Has a central line tungsten core plasma rail cannon. Three defensive cannons for anti-fighter defense, can carry two squadrons of fighters, one ready to deploy, one takes three minutes. By the schematics I've seen, this thing could do a lot of damage to the great fox." He stepped up to the screen as he spoke, bringing up a 3D image of the ship, right next to the polygon model.

"Alright, what do you recommend then?" he stepped away from the screen as he spoke.

"Fighters disable the main cannon, Fox blows it to hell. Simple." He spoke as if it was as easy as a walk in the park. Fox stroked his chin as he stared at the screen. He stepped up to the front of the group as he spoke.

"Alright, I want Falco, Hawkins, Mira, and myself to fly out and meet them. Krystal, keep the others prepped for _if_ we call. We go with Hawkins plan if they become hostile. Star Fox, Move out!" Krystal seemed almost sour as Fox spoke. She shuffled out with the rest of the group and stopped as she heard Krystal's angry voice.

"Fox! Why are you putting me on reserve again! There's no point holding me back on this one, especially given you could be up against two squads of trained pilots! So why are you leaving me here?!" fox audibly sighed as she spoke.

"Krystal, I don't want to seem like we're intending to attack. The ship could have a mechanical failure. Quit freaking out over nothing." She saw Fox's foot about to step off the bridge, just before it spun back into the room.

"Fox, it isn't nothing and you know it!" he suddenly burst into the hall, glaring at Mira. "What are you looking at? Get moving!" she nodded and rushed to the closest elevator. Before she knew it, she was in her fighter, powering it up.

"Comm check, am I coming through loud and clear?" she absently nodded as she spoke.

"Yeah, you are." She finished her pre-flight checks as Fox spoke over the radio.

"All ships launch!" Mira lifted her fighter off the deck and followed Hawkins out of the hanger. Minutes seemed to drag by as they ripped through empty space. A contact appeared on her radar, just seconds before Fox spoke again. "This is the Star Fox team hailing unidentified vessel in sector twelve. Identify yourself or be fired upon." Seconds dragged by before Hawkins finally spoke.

"Their deploying fighters. One squadron. Interceptor class, looks like Tomcats!" Tomcats were the human counter for the Arwing. They had two powerful engines, placed far apart from each other and two G-diffuser's that stuck out horizontally, folding back when the ship accelerated and folding out when the ship decelerated. The twelve fighters arced out and away from the ship, headed straight for their formation. Falco's voice filled the air waves as they drew closer.

"Hey, this looks like fun. Three on one. Perfect odds!" her gut tightened into a knot as Hawkins spoke to her.

"Mira, stay on my tail until I tell you to break off, then go after the first fighter you can. Chase him down and don't worry about the others. If you get one on your six, tell me. And keep after the one your chasing." She glanced across space at him as he spoke.

"Are you insane!? Do you want me dead!?" he laughed over the radio.

"Just trust me." The distance between the two groups closed. They passed into firing range and red plasma shots lanced by. She juked and dodged, following Hawkins as he pulled up and away from their formation, not going head to head on them. As soon as his nose was pointing ninety degrees from their original path, he killed his engines and kept pitching over. The enemy fighters shot passed, narrowly missing as he shot after them. "Now Mira!" she peeled off of him and opened fire on one of the fighters. It juked and weaved, trying to dodge her fire. A few linked blasts connected and the ship exploded. She angled after another and two of the fighters dropped onto her tail.

"Hawkins, I got two of em on me!" she didn't catch his response as she juked and rolled, trying to avoid fire while still shooting at her target. Hawkins's Arwing shot past her's, just feet away. One of the blips behind her disappeared and the other veered away. Hawkins shot after it as she banked and dove to follow her own.

"Alright, we got two left to handle. Take em down Mira!" the blip he had been chasing was gone as he veered after the other remaining fighter. She shoved her foot down on the port rudder and fired a linked blast before putting her foot on the other rudder, swinging her nose back and firing a stream of unlinked plasma. The fighter juked to dodge the linked blast, only to be caught in the stream of fire. The ship lazily drifted apart as she pitched back toward Hawkins. A third Arwing flew in from in front of Hawkins and blew the last fighter apart. Fox's voice rang across the comms a split second later.

"All clear, advance on that ship and disable the weapons. Gonna have to fly close to get under their shielding." She formed back up on Hawkins and they rocketed toward the carrier. The ship was close to two hundred meters long and its rectangular body seemed strange compared to what Mira was used to seeing. Hawkins started juking around as the turrets began firing. She followed suit, trying to dodge their fire the best she could. Her craft shuddered as one of the thick globs glanced off her shields, knocking them out.

"My shields are down!" her cry went unanswered as they crossed over the hull of the ship. Hawkins looped toward the front of the ship, riding along the hull until he was close to the nose. His engines shut down, but instead of the G-diffuser's stopping his momentum, he kept drifting as the fighter flipped over. She fired bursts at the hull as he dumb fired a pair of missiles down the ships gun barrel. Both detonated deeper in the ship, ruining the weapon. She struggled to catch up to him as his engines relit. Fox and Falco had taken all but one of the cannons out as she arced around, stopping at the engines and blasting them apart. Two sets of green lights shot out of the starboard hangers and she squinted at them until Hawkins spoke.

"Oh shit, those are Raptors! Dominance class fighters, made to annihilate any fighter it comes across! Those should still be in prototype!" she shot off after one as Fox spoke.

"Fox to Great Fox, ships weapons disabled. She's all yours." She toke a second to study the fighter she was chasing. All she could see were six green bars, looking strangely like Fox or Falco's G-diffusers. The bars seemed to shift and move as the fighter juked in ways she would've never thought possible. She heard Falco shout over the radio as she fired blast after blast at the ship, most reflecting off shielding or flat out missing.

"Fox, you got one your tail!" Hawkins's voice followed as one of the blips disappeared.

"Not anymore! One down three to go!" the craft in front of her suddenly stopped on a dime and she shot past. Slivery blue bolts ripped past and one connected, knocking out what little charge had built back up in her shields. Another shot ripped into her fuselage in front of her and her fighter spun out of control as another hit her starboard G-diffuser.

"I'm hit! I've lost control!" Her view spun and she had trouble tracking the Arwing in front of her. A white streak shot away from it and passed behind her. Chunks of fighter drifted past as she finally stopped the spin. She could just barely see the Great fox out in front of her. Two green bolts ripped across space and a bright white flash filled space.

"All ships, report in?" Fox's voice was patchy over the radio. She waited as Falco and Hawkins reported in as green, no bogeys.

"I lost my starboard diffuser. I think the wing went with it. Toke a nasty hit on my nose too!" Fox cursed over the radio as Hawkins's fighter drifted up to her.

"Just hold on there, ill tow you home. It's my fault I abandoned you to help fox." She watched as Hawkins gently clamped his cargo ramp on her fuselage and gently pushed her fighter back to the Great fox. The hanger was devoid of gravity, allowing him to gently set her fighter down before landing himself. She cursed as gravity returned and she climbed out. The nose of her fighter had a large gouge taken out of it, and everything to the right of the cockpit was gone.

"Damn it!" she kicked at the ship as she cursed. Hawkins's voice behind her startled her.

"I'll help you fix your ship. It's my fault you got nailed." He was inspecting the damage as he spoke.

"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't even be here! I can't fly worth anything!" he looked at her with an expression of pity as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You did great Mira! Tomcats are comparable to Arwings in almost every way except shielding. And you killed two of them while flying as a distraction! And Raptors are considered one of the best fighters in the galaxy! And you stayed on one's tail and dropped its shields! We're lucky only one ship was damaged against those things. Don't blame yourself Mira. You did good." A warmth started to fill her heart as he spoke.

"Do you really think so?" he nodded as Fox marched over, his HUD rig in the crook of his arm.

"Hey Mira, don't feel bad about getting hit out there. You did good. Hawkins, you need to do a better job at sticking with your wing mate. You almost got her killed." He nodded as he put one of the panels back on her fighter.

"I know. And I can get this fighter back up in a day or two, upgrade it a lot too." Fox nodded and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Well, save it for tomorrow. Get some sleep you two." They both nodded and stepped out of the hanger. She couldn't look at him as they rode the elevator.

"Look, Hawkins, I'm really sorry you got paired with me." He glared at her as he spoke.

"Don't talk like that. You are a good pilot. A little rough around the edges but you just need a few battles under your belt. And I don't want anyone else as a wing men. Understood?" she nodded as they stepped out and marched into their room. He toke the bathroom so she could change clothes and she was already curled up in her bed when he came out. He stared at her as if he wanted to say something before dropping into his own bunk. She felt herself slowly slip into a restless sleep as images of their battle flooded her dreams.

* * *

Krystal shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable. Every muscle in her body seemed like it was made of concrete. Her eyes were still damp from crying earlier that day. The door opened and she glanced up to see Fox stepping in. she sat up as soon as she saw him, pulling the sheets up to cover her bare chest.

"Krystal, we have a problem. I pulled Hawkins out of bed to get his thoughts, but we think that ship was not rouge or pirates. We think the United Earth Coalition sent it to scout our defenses. It was close enough for LADAR scans." He didn't seem to want to look her in the eye as he spoke.

"So you're saying war is going to ensue?" Fox nodded as he stood, leaning up against their desk, facing away from her.

"Krystal, I'm sorry about earlier. Yes, I have been holding you back. Because I'm scared of losing you." He still wouldn't look at her.

"Oh Fox, it's okay. I understand. Every time you go out there, I'm scared you won't come back." he nodded as he finally moved away from the desk. He stripped out of his flight suit before sitting on the bed. He didn't try to relax as he sat there.

"It could've been you out there today. It could've been you that nearly lost their life. The blast to Mira's fuselage was only a couple of feet from the canopy." His shoulders were slumped as he sat there.

"Hey don't think like that. If I was out there, we don't know what could have happened. We all make different choices. You need to sleep." She placed a hand on his shoulder and his own gripped it for a second.

"Yeah, your right. Good night Krystal." He slipped under the covers and was asleep in minutes.

"Good night Fox." She smiled slightly before laying back down and letting herself fall asleep. Images that weren't of her mind drifted in. _blue plasma crossing the air. Sand bags piled into a wall. People all around, with a sense of comradery. Frantic radio calls with no response. Blood all over hands. A pair of shiny dog tags, dripping with blood. _She shot awake, the sudden force of her sitting up shaking Fox awake.

"Krystal? What's wrong?" she sat there, simply trying to catch her breath. Once she managed to calm it, she spoke, even though her entire body was still shaking.

"Nightmare. Not my own." Fox shifted over to sit in front of her as he spoke, a worried expression on his face.

"That medicine your taking isn't working then?" she shook her head.

"It is. I don't dream, but I still can experience other people's dreams." Fox placed a hand on her shoulder as he spoke.

"Then go talk to Townsend again. Ok?" she smiled slightly as she responded.

"Oh, I've known since I started the medicine. I just didn't want to tell you because your dreams are just too interesting." He glared at her, the faintest trace of a smile at the edge of his lips.

"Ok, what was the dream?" she sat for a second, thinking back to the weak memories.

"Well, I know it was a battlefield, fairly large. Someone, was calling for help maybe? I don't know, but they didn't get a response. There was blood everywhere and a deep sense of loss? I don't know. I only saw a few images. I know the images struck memories for whoever it was." Fox pulled her into a hug as they sat together.

"Was it on the ground?" she nodded and he continued. "Do you know who was fighting?" she sat for a second as she concentrated for a second.

"There was a pair of metal tags. Covered in blood." Fox nodded as he spoke.

"Hawkins. The CDF stopped using physical tags almost a century ago. The UEC still uses their old dog tag system with implants." She nodded as they sat there in silence. Her body slowly settled down and she finally spoke.

"What time is it?" he glanced over behind them at one of the nightstands.

"Almost five in the morning. We might as well get up." She nodded as they both stood. She was busy pulling on her clothes when she felt a sudden burst of agony, not at all her own. Fox was standing over her as her eyes slowly opened. He helped her stand back up, instantly speaking. "What the hell was that!" she shook her head slightly, trying to clear her head.

"Someone is in a lot of pain. I can't get it out of my head!" a red klaxon alarm suddenly went off. They glanced at each other before quickly finishing dressing.

* * *

I sprinted onto the command bridge, followed closely by Mira. We were both fully dressed, given she had awoken when I had startled awake. I slid to a stop inside as a harsh voice came out of the speakers.

"The attack started just a few minutes ago." The screen showed a saggy faced blood hound in a red formal uniform. One of his arms was in a sling. I assumed it was general Pepper. I knew he had been permanently injured during the Aparoid menace. Fox and Krystal rushed in, the only other two that seemed to be dressed. "Thirty UEC vessels dropped out of warp and opened fire on the city of Cicero. Damage is currently unknown, and most of the fleet is out on patrol. Star Fox, we need your support." Fox was instantly speaking.

"So that was a human scout. Alright Falco, Katt, Krystal, let's get out there. Bill, you are in charge of the ship. Hawkins, take Lucy out and guard the ship in your Arwings!" Fox moved to sprint out the door as I stepped up to the monitor.

"Fox, wait, their ships are jumping out." Fox skidded to a stop as he spun.

"What!?" he trotted to where I was standing as I watched the RADAR screen. The ships angled away from the planet and started disappearing one by one. Pepper came back on the screen.

"The enemy fleet just retreated. We have personnel moving in to assess the situation now but, early reports say massive numbers of civilian casualties. Transmitting orbital imagery now." I watched in horror as image after image rolled in, showing massive blast craters and collapsed buildings. The view changed to an over flight view from a fighter craft. The entire city seemed to be on fire, and only a hand full of buildings were still standing. A blind rage started to take over me as I saw the total carnage done to the city.

"Oh my god, what have they done?" Mira's voice was no more than a whisper. I turned to the smaller image of general Pepper as I spoke.

"I damn well hope we are going after these bastards." Everyone on the bridge glanced at me, shocked. Pepper's voice filled the bridge.

"You're human. And you want to kill humans?" I almost shouted at him.

"Damn right I do! How many innocent people did they just murder down there?!" the bridge fell silent as we stood there. Pepper's voice returned as new images appeared.

"I know you want to go after the UEC, but we need to free up our forces. Too many ships are tasked with escorting freighters and ships through pirate infested space. I need the Star fox team to start clearing them out while we recall the fleet." Images of snow planet appeared on the screen. Krystal seemed to be the only one able to find her voice.

"Is this Fachina?" the view zoomed in on one of the polar caps as she spoke.

"We need this gone. This base is able to hit any supply lines to Katina, Fortuna, and most of the outer planets. Now we aren't entirely sure where the base is, only that it is on or in the polar ice cap. I'm am sending you all of the data we have." Fox nodded as he spoke.

"We're on it general. Peppy, rob, get us there." The transmission cut off and the ship vibrated as the engines went to full power.

"Fachina is almost a week's trip from here. You all better get food in ya, and get gear up and running." We all nodded as one and people slowly trickled out. I moved up to the main screen and started flicking through the images again. Mira's voice startled me.

"Hey, come on. We should go get some food." She smiled slightly and I shut the screen off. Fox Krystal and Falco stayed on the bridge, clearly planning the mission out. I followed her through the halls and into the cafeteria. She led the way up to the food line, then to a table roughly in the center of the room. I felt nervous sitting there and I could tell that some of the Cornerians were whispering about me. Her voice startled me as she spoke. "So what do you think of Cornerian food?"

"It isn't too bad. Most of the same flavors but the eggs are thicker. And green." She laughed as she ate a bite of her food.

"So you didn't really say what that nightmare was about last night." I nearly choked on the food as she spoke.

"Well, I said I didn't want to talk about it. Alright?" she nodded and we ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Hawkins, why would the UEC target civilians?" I shrugged as I responded.

"I really don't know. When I was with them, we went to insane measures to protect civilian lives." She nodded just before a tray was set down beside Mira and I glanced up to see Krystal sliding onto the bench.

"Hey Hawkins, can I talk to you?" I nodded and she continued. "Did you have a nightmare last night?" I glared at her as I responded.

"I thought I made it clear that I want you to stay out of my head." She grimaced as she continued.

"I know, but I can't control it when I'm asleep." Mira began giggling furiously and we both stared at her for a second.

"I'm sorry, just made me remember that night what two weeks ago?" Krystal groaned and her head fell into her hands.

"Alright what happened?" my question went unanswered for a second, Mira to busy giggling to respond. Krystal sighed, staring at her food as she spoke

"Let's just say the dream thing can run both ways. And I had a, um, personal dream." Mira was barely able to speak as she held back laughing.

"There were candle lit bed rooms involved." I shook my head as Mira fought to control her laughter. Krystal shot a glare at her, clearly annoyed by it

"Shut up Mira. Anyway, seemed more like memories than a true nightmare Hawkins." I stared down at my food, not wanting to look her in the eye.

"My platoon got pinned down on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. We called for air support but command denied it. Lost almost everyone down there. They marked me down as being 'psychologically unable to continue in the military'. Slapped a medical discharge on me and that was the end of my career." Mira had stopped laughing and was listening intently.

"I'm sorry." We sat in silence for a few seconds after Krystal spoke until her voice popped into my head.

_There's more to it than that, isn't there?_ My hand instinctively reached up to my shirt and feeling the old dog tags up against my chest. I glanced back at her as I thought.

_Yes. But it's not something I'm telling you about._ She nodded almost imperceptibly and stood up.

"Well, I'm going to rejoin Fox. Bye." She trotted off as we finished our food. The trays were dumped into the tray chute and we marched into the hanger. I glanced at Mira for a second.

"Following me now?" she smirked at me before she spoke.

"Well, I kinda have a fighter to fix." She smiled at me and I rolled my eyes at her. We marched over to her fighter to find a short, plump, toad like creature already finishing off the repair of the nose. The damaged parts of her starboard G-diffuser had already been removed.

"Oh hey Slippy!" my voice rang out before I could stop it. He set his tool down and faced me. His blue hued uniform was coated in hydraulic fluid stains.

"Hey, I heard about a damaged Arwing, couldn't resist going and working on it. Machines just seem to talk to me." He grinned slightly and I glanced at Mira, trying to hold back from laughing. Something about him just seemed to make me want to laugh at him.

"Well, thanks Slippy. Hawkins said he could upgrade it a little too." She shot a glare past me as I picked up tools and started pulling the armor above the reactor. I pulled it and started rearranging the way it was set up as Slippy installed the new g-diffuser and wing. I stopped working to wipe sweat off my forehead and Fox's voice came across the intercom.

"Reports are coming in about Cicero City. Ninety percent of the population is dead. Seven million people lived in that city. My condolences go to anyone with family or friends there." I felt the eyes of every person in the hanger staring nervously at me, as if I was suddenly going to attack. I sighed as I lowered the reactor back into the fighter and reconnected it to the system. Slippy glanced up at me as he spoke.

"Hawkins, I have to ask, are you staying with us? Or are you returning to the UEC." I stared at him for a second before I spoke.

"Seven million people are dead back there. And the UEC did that. What do you think?" he nodded as Mira spoke.

"He is staying with us. Otherwise, he wouldn't have saved my life yesterday. And you didn't hear what he said on the bridge." She was glaring at Slippy, almost as if she was daring him to question her wing mate. The fighter hummed to life underneath me as I fired it up.

* * *

Fox stepped into the briefing room almost instantly starting up the holo projector. They were only a day out, but Fox was too nervous to not try to get information. He punched in a call to General Pepper and it was almost immediately answered.

"Ah, Fox, good to see you." Fox smiled as he spoke.

"Like wise, General. Just want to know the situation out there." Pepper nodded as he scratched at his elbow. Fox knew the sling bothered him, but the Aparoid infection had permanently damaged nerves.

"About half the fleet has been recalled. And our ambassador is on his way with a formal declaration of war. All quiet for the moment though." Fox nodded absently, not really knowing what to say. "Reports are done on Cicero. The coastline may take decades to recover from the plasma bombardment. Almost three quarters of the survivors have perished from injuries. Search teams are still digging through the buildings, trying to find bodies." Fox glanced down as the console beeped, showing it had received the files.

"Alright. I'll inform you when the job's done. Fox out." Pepper nodded as the image disappeared. Fox yawned as he walked out of the room and toward the elevator. He quietly made his way to his room and changed clothes before he flopped down onto his bed. The door opened again to let Krystal in. He sat up as she sat down at their desk.

"Hey Fox, did you talk to pepper?" he absently nodded as he spoke, not really looking at her.

"Yeah. None of it any good." She nodded and went quiet for a minute. The silence stretched between them and Fox got the feeling something was wrong. "You alright Krystal?" she didn't move as she spoke.

"Yeah just I'm worried about Mira and Hawkins. They both are hurting, whether they show it or not." He looked at her puzzled for a second.

"Krystal, they both seem fine. Well, he's a little reckless, and she doubts herself but, they'll work through that with time." she glared at him for a second.

"Are you really that thick Fox? Mira has been having trouble since she came on board. I'm not even sure how you accepted her. And her doubting herself only makes it worse. And Hawkins just about killed himself back on Fortuna. And that doesn't concern you? Both of them have nearly died already." He sat up, still just as confused.

"You remember what Mira's parents did, if she's even half as good as them, she'll be fine with us. And Hawkins, well he's a soldier, he understands that sacrifice is sometimes necessary." She continued to glare at him.

"Seriously Fox? You're acting like I think the recklessness or the doubting is the problem. Their just symptoms. Mira lost her parents three years ago. I asked her a lot about her past and all of these doubt issues, started then. She was seeing a psychiatrist for it. And Hawkins was medically discharged because a mental problem. He has no value for his own life, and it comes out as recklessness! I don't see why you aren't worried." Silence stretched between them as thoughts ran through Fox's mind.

"I think I see what you mean. But there's nothing we can do but keep an eye on them." Krystal nodded, and her voice was quiet as she spoke.

"Fox, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you." He slipped out of bed and crouched in front of her.

"It's alright. I keep comparing them to me and it just doesn't work. I'll never understand them. That's part of why you're here." He smiled at her, putting a hand on one of her shoulders.

"Fox, you should be able to understand Mira at least a little bit. You lost your parents, just like her." Fox shook his head as he stood and started pacing.

"No. I never met my mother. And dad, I was almost twenty years old when he went missing. And, well, I'm not entirely sure he's gone. Her parents, she knows their dead. She has medals they were awarded. And she was still a teenager when it happened. It's not even similar." Krystal looked puzzled as Fox spoke. She spoke slowly, as if she was choosing her words carefully.

"What do you mean, you aren't entirely sure James is gone?" Fox stayed quiet as he paced back and forth. It toke him several minutes until he finally spoke.

"Well, eleven years ago, after I had defeated Andross. He… well... he was there. He guided me out of Andross's base. I wouldn't have made it out if he hadn't. And I don't know, I feel him sometimes. Up against the Aparoid queen, or general Scales on Sauria. Like when you enter my thoughts." She glanced at him, completely confused.

"What? Why haven't you told me this before?" he shrugged as he finally sat back down.

"Well, it does sound kinda crazy, doesn't it?" she laughed, confusing Fox even more.

"Not that crazy. Do you not remember who was pulling the strings on Sauria? I don't think you were seeing things. And I think he is watching over you." Fox smiled as she spoke, realizing just how silly it was to have not mentioned this to her before now.

"Well, I'm going to sleep, good night Krystal." He fell back on the bed as she spoke.

"Good night Fox. I just have to finish a few things." he smiled as he let himself drift off to sleep.

()

I stood behind Mira, where she had slumped asleep on her desk. She didn't respond to my quiet call, so I gently shook her.

"Mira." She stirred a little before yawning and stretching. The movement reminded me so much of a cat that I almost laughed.

"Oh hey Will. Sorry, must've dozed off." I sat down at my desk chair across from her as I spoke.

"It's alright. I've been wanting to ask you, if it's alright, but what were your parents like?" pain flashed across her face as I spoke. She toke a lot longer then I would've thought to speak.

"They were great people. Met as fighter pilots with the CDF. Mom left to raise me and dad stayed in. but, at every major conflict, mom re-enlisted. Dad looked a lot like Fox. Didn't have the white Mohawk looking thing, and his fur was more red but. People say I got his tail and eyes. Mom was well, she was a feline." I cut in as she was speaking.

"I'm guessing she had tan fur?" She smiled and nodded as she continued.

"Yes, she did. Anyway, she signed back up three and a half years ago. They were part of the fleet that went after the Aparoids. Peppy is the one who told me this but, they died covering the Great Fox as it tried to support Fox and them. Mom went first. Piece of another defense Arwing punched through her canopy. Dad, he wouldn't directly say, but he was taken by the Aparoids. Died with them." I nodded, feeling horrible for asking her now that I knew that.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Tears were forming in her eyes as she spoke.

"No, it's alright Will." My eyes dropped to the floor as I asked her another question.

"How old were you?" she didn't hesitate at all to answer. In some ways, she seemed almost eager too.

"Fifteen. Anyway, what about you?" I smirked at her, glad that she had changed the subject.

"My mother was killed when I was six months old. Islamic terrorist cell. Almost all of them banded together, with a few non-Muslim extremists, to form a group called Mohammad's army. Anyway, dad, well he wasn't around much. He was a pilot when he married mom. One of the best. He slowly rose through the ranks. He was actually at first contact. Was in command of the ship that engaged the three Cornerian destroyers above mars." She glanced up at me, almost as if she was asking what had happened. "A colony ship arrived at Fortuna. CDF mistook it for an Andross Remnant troopship, and destroyed it. Sent three ships to see where it came from. Anyway, now he is Rear Admiral Hawkins. Commands the entire earth defense fleet. Three hundred ships. We haven't talked in years though." She looked at me, puzzled.

"Why not?" I got up and started pacing up and down the room.

"Well, he groomed me to be a pilot. Bought me a civilianized F-93 Trident. Taught me to fly. And I went off and joined the army Rangers. Well, let's just say he would've only been proud of a navy son. Haven't talked in three years." She stood up and stopped my pacing, pulling me into a hug to do so.

"I'm sorry. I am curious though, what are the rangers?" I chuckled slightly as I pulled out of the hug.

"Well, every nation in the UEC has its own military. My dad is one of the few pilots left to have fought an interplanetary national fight. Anyway, the Rangers are heavy infantry. When an infantry company can't do it, you send a platoon of Rangers. And the U.S. military has the most advanced military." She nodded as we both sat back down. She grabbed the picture off her desk and passed it to me. It was unmistakably her parents standing with a younger version of herself.

"Anyway, that's my parents. That was taken just before mom went back to basic training. She laughed about it getting easier each time." There was a small smile on her face as a single tear traced a dark line in her fur.

"They sound like good people." She nodded as I handed the picture back. More tears slid down her face as she set the photo back down on the desk. I absently pulled the dog tags out of my shirt and turned them over in my hand. One of them still had small traces of blood on it.

"What are those?" her voice was weak as she spoke.

"Dog tags. Humans issue them to every soldier. Was originally for identifying bodies, but now it's more just a tradition. One pair is mine, the other belonged to a, well, a friend. Died on Ganymede." She nodded as silence stretched between us. "Anyway, you look exhausted. Why don't you go to bed?" she nodded as she stood up and yawned again.

"You should too. Good night Will." I absently smiled as I responded to her.

"Good night Mira. And I hope you sleep well. I'll try to not wake you again." She returned the smile as she slipped into the bathroom to change. I slipped out of the room and wandered the ship until I found myself on the bridge, staring out at the strange colors caused by Faster than Light travel. I pulled the dog tags out and stared at the name on them, feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

_Rest in peace, Amanda Taylor._


	5. Chapter 5: Tidings of War

Mira slowly awoke, glancing over at Hawkins's empty bed. She sighed as she sat up and rolled off the bed. This was the fourth time in the past week since they had left Corneria that he had stayed awake, wandering the ship at night. She quickly dressed and set out to find him. She almost ran into Krystal as she stepped into the elevator.

"Oh, hey Mira. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" she was smiling at Mira as she spoke.

"The bridge. Looking for Hawkins. He was up wandering the ship again last night." Krystal laughed as the elevator toke them up to the top deck.

"Well, he does tend to do that alot. Fox wants me to help him plan the mission on Fachina. Rob says we are only a few hours out." The door opened and the two of them stepped out together.

"Are Hawkins and him going groundside again?" Krystal nodded as they stopped in front of the briefing room door.

"Well, technically, we all are. Splitting into two man teams to find their base. Each deploying to a different site. Once found, the Great Fox will paste it from orbit. We hope." Krystal winked at Mira as she tried to hide her fear. She had never even thought she might do any fighting outside of her Arwing. She waved to Krystal before continuing to the front of the ship. She stepped onto the bridge, instantly seeing Peppy, Rob, and Bill all chatting with each other, Peppy and Bill sipping cups of coffee.

"Oh hey Mira." Bill had always been friendly with her. She had learned a lot about him and fox's past, training together at the Cornerian flight academy, even old jokes from their school days. He had been a squadron commander until six months prior, when Fox asked him to command the second flight on the Star Fox team.

"Hey Bill. Seen Hawkins lately?" he shook his head as he spoke.

"No." Peppy spoke up before bill could continue, drawing Mira's attention.

"Hawkins was in here this morning. He and Slippy went down to the galley to eat." She nodded and waved to all of them before half running down to the galley. She almost instantly spotted them in one of the corners. She had quickly learned that Hawkins liked having a solid wall behind him and a clear view of the room. She heard Slippy talking to him as she moved over there.

"And what you did with the shield capacitors, building them into the wings, making the envelope just a few inches off the hull, beautiful!" Hawkins smirked as he absently ate the mush on the plate in front of him.

"I just installed smaller and more numerous capacitors. Problem with Cornerian ships, is they only have four capacitors, and all are in the body, sending a shield around the body and leaving the wings vulnerable. Human fighters have around thirty spread around the ship. They are built to barely extend the shields past the hull, while still remaining strong. A shot that would just pass between the G-diffusers, will strike shields on an Arwing. Mine, just passes harmlessly by. I also doubled up the capacitors, so if one fails, a backup kicks in. helps keep the shields running under more extreme duress. Well, if I hadn't stolen half of them to upgrade Mira's fighter. Speak of the devil, hey Mira!" she returned his grin as she sat down.

"Hey Will, Slippy. Trouble sleeping?" she directed her words at Hawkins and he shifted slightly.

"Nah, just too bored. Can't sleep when I haven't done anything." There was something in his steel grey eyes that said that wasn't true. "Anyway, we were just talking about me and you're Arwings. Care to join?" she smiled as she spoke.

"Sure, just one question, you explained where you learned to fly, but where did you end up in an Arwing?" he shrugged as he spoke, and Slippy seemed riveted.

"Well, I came over to the Lylat system. Couldn't face my father after being discharged. Found this stunt group out of Corneria city. Joined up with them and they used me to cover their weakest pilot. He was good, but formation stuff just didn't agree with him. So he acted as the face, I was the skill. They were flying second gen's till about six months ago. I actually quit when they switched over, only did a few more shows so I could bring my Arwing up to battle ready status." Slippy cut in during his pause.

"Did you ever check the VIN on your Arwing?" Hawkins nodded as he spoke.

"Why?" Slippy shifted in his seat as if he was nervous.

"Well, some of the changes, were familiar to me. I ran the VIN in our systems, and it turns out that you bought one of our old Arwings." Both Mira and Hawkins stared at him, stunned.

"How?" Slippy grinned as he spoke.

"Well, I installed the control board that's in it. That wasn't a standard board, I built it myself from scrap. We traded all three of our Arwings for the third gens. Made it a lot cheaper for us. We only ever got the second gens because of their reliability. They are solid as bricks, even if they aren't as fast as the first or third gens." Hawkins was silent for a second while Mira stared at them in disbelief.

"Well, I can tell you they scrapped the other two. That trade in came up on its history, but they didn't show who had bought it or traded it. That's cool. By the way, I love the analogue interface. Always hated all this digital crap." Slippy almost cheered as he yelled.

"Yes! Fox _always_ hated it. Loves the holographic interface on his Third gen." Mira laughed slightly as she spoke.

"Well, I for one would love a digital interface in mine. Not holographic but." The two of them seemed to speak as one.

"We can do that." She laughed at their almost in sync voices. A fourth voice joined them and she almost jumped out of her seat.

"Hey guys, mind if I join ya?" She spun to see Bill setting a tray down on the other side of Slippy.

"Oh hey Bill, sure." Bill smirked as he spoke, his voice seeming to simply roll out of him.

"Hey guys." Hawkins spoke up before anyone else could.

"Hey Bill, what brings you down here?" he grinned as he sat down.

"Peppy had to go help Fox. So thought I'd join you young ones." He smiled as Slippy spoke.

"Well, we were just talking about a very strange occurrence dealing with Hawkins's Arwing." He looked quizzically at Hawkins. Hawkins spoke as Krystal sat down with the small group.

"Apparently, I have Fox's old Arwing." Krystal and Bill looked shocked for a second as Krystal spoke.

"Fox hasn't had a Second gen in almost four years? I thought they scrapped his when we traded them in?" Hawkins almost instantly spoke.

"They scrapped the other two. Not mine. Just stripped the weapons and sold it." Mira finally managed to say something before someone else did.

"You never did say why you left the stunt group? And I thought you were helping Fox?" Hawkins's face visibly dropped as Krystal shrugged.

"Got bored." Hawkins's voice was quiet as he spoke.

"One of the pilots died. My wingman. There was a factory fault in his G-Diffuser. Blew the starboard parts of his fighter off. One second, we were rocketing along at thirty feet, just inches from each other, next second, his fighter was a burning fireball thirty meters behind me. Only wingman that I was ever really good at working with." He was quiet and she felt her heart start to sink.

"I remember that air show. I had never seen one before and Fox took me to see it. He was still trying to figure out how to ask me out then. Anyway, you were a Corsair, weren't you!?" Hawkins nodded as he spoke to Krystal.

"Yeah so what?" the name clicked into place as Bill spoke.

"You flew with the Corsairs?! Holy shit, they are considered the best stunt pilots in the entire Lylat system!" Hawkins shrugged as he spoke.

"Well, you won't find me on the official roster. Their manager said that the public would flip if a human was known to be flying with them, so we blacked out our canopies, and never climbed out in public view. They were good pilots, I kinda miss them, truth be told." Krystal nodded as she spoke.

"That explains why one of the birds didn't land when that crash happened. You couldn't, it would've ruined their reputation." Hawkins nodded as a weak smile crossed his face.

"And why they upgraded their Arwings. They gave me the one I had been flying when I left, told me the door was always open. Helped me get the fighter battle ready. Last gig I did with them was about a month and a half ago." Bill clapped his shoulder as Slippy spoke again.

"Well, I'm glad you're with us. I've heard what you can do in that Arwing of yours, and I'm going to machine new capacitors for all of the Arwings. I've already mimicked your core setup." He grinned at them all as each one spoke in agreement.

"Thanks guys." There was something about his smile that said he couldn't have been happier.

* * *

Fox dropped his head into his hands. They couldn't think of a better plan than splitting between four potential base sites. And the search area was thousands of square kilometers that they had to search.

"Are you sure you can't rig up some sort of probe or something? Like those unmanned drones the UEC uses?" Peppy shook his head as she spoke.

"We don't have the time. We'll be fine. It's as simple as find the base, and nail it. Nothing more. No one has to fight." He sighed as he stepped away from the holo pad and started pacing again.

"Are you absolutely sure the guns can punch through the ice?" he nodded and Fox spoke.

"So why don't we just bombard the entire region!" Peppy shook his head, clearly as frustrated as he was.

"We could, but this is the water supply for most of the colony. If we bombard it, the colony will be flooded. We can't let that happen." Fox cursed as he paced.

"Alright. They won't like it, but it's all we can do. We'll go down as wing pairs, use the shuttles. Krystal and I, Falco and Katt, Bill and Lucy, Hawkins and Mira. I just hope this works." Peppy nodded as they stood there.

"I'll tell everyone to suit up and meet in the rear hanger. Cold weather gear, and blaster rifles. Good luck down there." Fox nodded and marched out into hallway. He quickly reached his cabin as Peppy's voice filled the intercom. "All pilots, retrieve winter gear and rifles from the armory and report to the rear hanger bay. I repeat…" Fox ignored the rest as he tugged his flight suit on and pulled a heavy jacket over it. He grabbed his blaster pistol as he stepped out the door, nearly running into Krystal.

"Hey Fox. Can you grab my blaster and MG from the armory?" he turned back to her as he trotted down the hallway.

"Yeah, sure thing." She nodded as he stepped into the elevator. He rushed into the armory, grabbing Krystal's blaster and her Machine gun. She favored it over the blaster rifles for some reason. He slung the ammo bag over his shoulder as he grabbed his own rifle. Cornerian blasters were very short, and it was rare to find one with a stock on it. Fox's happened to be one of the few, but only because he modified it after the Aparoid threat. He checked the battery on it before leaving the Armory as Mira, and Bill marched in.

"Hey Bill, Mira." Bill nodded to him as he marched down the hallway and into the rear hanger. The room was cramped with the two small shuttles and the freighter parked in it. The shuttles were more or less flying boxes, meant for ferrying people between the ship and the surface and nothing else. Hawkins was already in there, his chemical seals latched onto his armor, acting as cold weather gear. His helmet was under the crook of his arm, the faceplate already attached.

"Fox." He nodded to Fox as he spoke.

"Hawkins. No more rescuing me. Got it?" he laughed as they waited for the rest of the team.

"No promises. Sorry, if your ass needs savin…" Fox glared at him as the others started trickling in. Fox handed Krystal the machinegun and ammo as he spoke to the group.

"We are splitting into wing pairs down there. You find the base call in strike coordinates, then the Great Fox pounds it." he brought up a holographic map of the area before he continued. "Krystal, we are going to the mountains here. Falco, you and Katt will search the glacial ravines here. Bill, Lucy, you have the lone mount, here. Hawkins, Mira, you have the impact site. Hawkins, a Cornerian battle cruiser slammed into the ground at light speed here about twelve years ago. Broke the ice down to cave systems deep below the surface." The group was silent as Fox watched them. "Alright, Star Fox, move out!"

* * *

_It's colder than the last time I was here._ Fox was startled when Krystal spoke.

"Really? Cause it is freezing out here. I feel really sorry for Falco." Fox grinned as he imagined Falco complaining insistently about the cold.

"Yeah. It didn't get this cold at the control center. Brrr." He shook snow off his fur as they marched into the next cave. Krystal's violet battle armor was half covered by the thick leather jacket she was wearing over it, turned almost white by the windblown snow. Her old collapsible staff was just barely visible, sticking out from below the jacket.

"I hope the others are having more luck. I think all we have accomplished is freezing our weapons to our bodies." Fox smirked as he flicked the light on his rifle on. It illuminated the small cave and he was about to leave when something metallic caught his eye. He moved closer to it, deeper into the cave. Something shifted beneath his feet and the wall slid back and folded up, revealing a long hallway on the other side.

"Well, Krystal, still feeling unlucky?" she rolled her eyes and didn't answer as she marched down the corridor. They reached the end and stepped through the doorway. It lead into a small group of elevators and Fox summoned one.

"Fox, I have a bad feeling about this. We should've encountered resistance by now." He shrugged as he spoke, waiting for the elevator.

"The last base was pathetically defended. Might be the same here." She rolled her eyes again as the elevator reached them. They stepped inside and pressed the down button. Krystal moved to the side of the elevator as Fox did the same on the other side. The door opened and they both rolled out, weapons raised. The room they had entered looked like a large hanger bay, with multiple strike fighters inside, as well as a small destroyer. The two of them glanced at each other as silence seemed to fill the room.

"Don't say it Fox." He grinned at her as he spoke.

"It's too quiet." She just about hit him as he sniggered.

"Damn it Fox, why do you always jinx us!" he held back laughter as he spoke.

"Aw come on Krystal, there is no such thing as bad luck. It's all in…." his voice cut off as plasma bolts started ripping through the air around them. Fox dived to the deck and fired back at every muzzle flash he saw.

"See! You jinxed us!" Fox grinned as they rushed behind a strike fighter, using it as cover.

"No, I just brought us some excitement!" she glared at him as she ducked down to reload.

"Oh yeah, totally exciting, a whole bunch of angry pirates shooting at us. Love it!" Fox blasted one of the pirates as the pirate moved around the ship.

"I know you do!" he grinned at her glare.

"Grenades?" Fox shook his head as he slung his rifle.

"How about strike fighters?" he climbed up into the ship and fired it up. As soon as it hovered off the floor, he rotated and began firing at the infantry. They began to scramble as Krystal kept firing machine gun rounds into them.

"Alright, I have to admit, it's better than grenades." Fox grinned as he fired on a pair of Mech suits. The two treaded behemoths detonated under the shots.

"See? All of my plans are great!" he heard her groan over the radio. A massive door at the end of the room opened as the destroyer powered up. it backed out of the hanger as it fired a plasma blast into the strike fighter Fox was in. it spun out of control and slammed into the wall, crushing a fighter beneath it.

"Fox!" Krystal shot across the hanger, ignoring the plasma fire. Fox was already kicking the canopy out as she scrambled up to him. She shrieked as a plasma bolt ripped across her arm. She clutched the wound as Fox leapt out and fired his blaster. Krystal slipped behind the wrecks and through a doorway. Fox sealed it as he passed through behind her. "Fox, you're plans, are what get us into messes like this!"

* * *

I marched through the thick snow as wind blew against me, tearing at my clothes.

"Damn, it is cold out here! I way under dressed!" I smirked as I glanced back at her. She was wearing a thick jacket and skin tight jeans. She had been complaining about the cold ever since we had landed.

"Did you miss the memo that we were going to a glacier?" she glared at me as I stopped, dropping my pack into the snow.

"What the hell are you doing!" I pulled a pair of uniform pants and a uniform jacket and tossed them to her.

"Throw those on over your clothes. It's technically for urban environments but it's winterized, so it'll keep you warmer." She didn't hesitate as she dropped her rifle and slipped into the clothing. She had to blouse it in her boots to keep from walking on the hems. The clothes were insanely baggy on her. "There, better?" she nodded and I handed her rifle back. We kept moving through the thick snow. I was constantly having to clumsily wipe snow off my visor with the bulky gloves.

_At least I aint freezing._ The thought crossed my mind before I could stop it. We reached the edge of the impact crater and she grabbed the grappling hook out of my pack. I rammed it into the ice and threw the rope off the edge. She glanced down, gulping at the near thirty foot drop.

"Aw come-on. It aint that bad Mira!" I smirked at her just before I leapt off the cliff, even though I knew she wouldn't see it. I reached the bottom and hollered up to her. "Come on down! Don't worry, I'm right here if you fall!" I watched as she grabbed the rope and began inching down it. I could tell the strain was starting to get to her, when she suddenly let go of the rope. She was only a few feet up, but she screamed anyway. I caught her and she stopped screaming almost instantly.

"Don't ever let someone talk me into that again." I smirked as I set her down.

"Hawkins to McCloud, we made it to the crater. Beginning search now." His voice was barely audible over the radio.

"Alright, we are moving deeper into the mountains. Expect interference to kill comms. Over." I nodded as I turned to Mira.

"Well, if you were a bunch of crazy profit driven pirates, where would you hide your entrance?" she shrugged as she gazed across the massive crater.

"Ya know, if the snow wasn't so thick, you'd still be able to see the shattered ice." I shrugged as I turned toward the cliff, seeing an almost perfect rectangular hole in the ice.

"How about the conveniently placed rectangular hole in the wall?" Mira's voice sounded confused as she spoke.

"What are you talking about?" I grabbed her arm and spun her around, without taking my eyes off the ice. "Oh, that hole." I unslung my rifle and loaded a magazine, slapping the charging handle out of the locked position.

"Well, you coming?" she was still standing outside as I moved into the hole.

"Oh, um yeah." she trotted to keep up as I reached a metal wall. There was a hand sized button on the side and I pressed it. The door squealed as it fought to break the ice that had formed over it. My rifle snapped up, just before the door did the same. I glanced at Mira before stepping through. She followed just slightly behind me. My light flicked on, illuminating the second doorway. Mira pressed the button and I stepped through into a small security station. It was deserted as I moved to one of the consoles and powered it up.

"Will, what are you doing?" I held up a finger as I fumbled with a few keys. My curse made her jump slightly as I tore the gloves and faceplate off, storing them in a small pouch. I brought up a base announcement and read it aloud.

"'We believe MacDonnell has been delayed in his usual inspection by the start of the war. I believe he will be using UEC ships to cover his movement in the system. All hands, continue with current assignments until further notified.' That was yesterday. Do they know something we don't? And why is MacDonnell's name so familiar?" Mira moved up beside me as I punched commands into the console, finding a map of the base.

"Wow, this place is huge. And who is MacDonnell?" I shrugged as I downloaded the map.

"I don't know. But his name came up at the last base too, and something about it seems familiar." We were silent as I tried to search the system for more information. Peppy's voice suddenly burst over the radio.

"Fox! Do you read?!" we glanced between ourselves as I spoke.

"Fox is under a Comm blackout. Even we can't reach him, over?" Peppy sounded frantic as he spoke.

"What about Falco, or bill?!" I shook my head as I started pacing a short way away from the console.

"I can try." I changed the channel on my radio and spoke again.

"Falco, Bill, either of you hearin me?" Bill's voice came through almost instantly.

"Loud and clear Hawkins. And we can barely get Falco." I pointed at Mira as I spoke.

"All right, peppy is contacting us. I'm bouncing his signal to you. Peppy, we can't get fox but the rest are listening." His voice echoed slightly as it got bounced to Bill.

"Pepper sent us an urgent message. The UEC has attacked Fortuna and Katina with almost four hundred ships. He has maybe a hundred and sixty engaging, and maybe eighty more he can call to duty, but he needs us out there. Katina has fallen, and Fortuna is locked in a ground war. We need to get out of here now!" I cursed as fear filled Mira's eyes.

"Bill, Falco, get your teams topside. Mira, transmit these base maps up to the Fox, then we'll go after McCloud and extract him." Bill and Falco acknowledged and Mira stuck a small drive into the console. Within a few seconds, she had pulled it out and was sending the data. I thought I heard a footstep and I turned the console off before shoving her behind it, flicking my light off. "Stay quiet. Not a sound." She nodded as I hissed in her ear. A door opened and a pair of flashlights swept into the room.

"Man, why are we even up here! No one ever uses this entrance!" the other soldier spoke as he marched to the door we entered through.

"They detected an entry here, and an unauthorized network access. Could be with the guys attacking the hanger. Now go check that console!" I slipped my knife out as the soldier approached, setting his light on the console. I slipped up behind him and rammed the knife into his spine before yanking it out and ramming it deep into his diaphragm. I gently lowered the body to the floor as the other guard spoke. "Damn it Ramone, did you find anything…. Ramone?" he was sweeping the light my way as I gripped the tip of the knife, brought my arm back and let it fly. There was a flash as the light caught a glimmer of the knife before it slammed into his throat. I stepped over his friend's corpse and yanked the knife out of the dying Cornerians throat.

"I… you just killed them! Both of them, with a knife! I…" I stopped her as I flicked my rifle light back on.

"It aint that impressive. Now come on, we gotta move. They'll have needed to report back soon. You have the rear, I have point. Remember, check your corners, control your breath, smooth trigger work, and your targets will go down." She nodded and I lead the way through the base. One of the doors opened to a lit hallway and I flicked my light off. Two soldiers saw me enter and I blasted a single round into each. Mira's higher pitched weapon fired and I glanced to my right. One of the pirates was slumping against a wall. "Good shot."

"Thanks." I trotted on, arriving in a massive hanger. All the way across the hanger, in the opposite corner, was a wrecked strike fighter resting on top of another one. Between us and there was a massive group of pirates, including a Mech suit.

"Run for the other side!" I shouted as I shoved her that way. My rifle began firing as if it had its own mind. Pirates scattered for whatever cover they could, including thin crates that my rifle punched clean through. I ducked down and reloaded the rifle before slamming open a tube running along the underside of the weapon. A large slug came out of one of my pouches and I slammed the tube shut with it inside. I aimed way above the Mech and squeezed the trigger at the back of the tube. There was a loud whump as the grenade arced out and slammed into the Mech. The Mech was nothing but small pieces of scrap after the grenade had gone off. I sprinted across the hanger and slid to a stop behind the wrecked fighter. There was a door that I pounded on as Mira caught up.

"Fox, open the door!" Mira's shout went over the radio and the door slid open, both of us diving through.

"What the hell are you two doing here?!" Mira glanced at him and laughed.

"Well to rescue you of course! We need to get out of here! Now!" Fox nodded as I continued. "I'm on point. Fox, cover right, Krystal, cover left, Mira, cover rear. I want three hundred and sixty degree coverage. You see a target, call it as you shoot it. Clear if they're all dead! MOVE!" they needed no more explanation. I sprinted out the door, moving back the way I came. "Three, twelve o'clock." I fired my rifle as I ran. "Clear!" Fox's voice followed.

"One tango, two o'clock." His blaster fired as he spoke. "Clear!" Krystal suddenly yelled and I almost instantly reacted.

"Fox, sniper!" I dived into him and felt myself get blasted off my feet. Blaster shots rang out as I sprung to my feet and kept running. We reached the door and Fox finally spoke.

"You alright Will?" I nodded absently as I spoke.

"Yeah, I wear armor for a reason." We ran through the hallways, fending off attack after attack until we were in the final security room. I spun to a stop and fired back the way we came as pirates rushed at us.

"Krystal, Mira, go! We got this!" Fox's voice rang out and they complied. We heard the shuttle land behind us and we sprinted out into the snow blown landscape. Fox suddenly shouted and fell to the ground. I yanked him by the collar of his jacket and half tossed him on the shuttle before jumping on myself. The shuttle lifted up and away from the ground as Krystal spoke.

"Fox! Where are you hit?!" his eyes were wide as he responded.

"They got my damn ass! Oh god that hurts! Ow-ow-ow! Damn it I am not sitting down for a while! Son of a monkeys left testicle this hurts!" I started laughing as he squirmed around on the floor, screaming profanities.

"Hawkins, this isn't funny!" I barely spoke between the laughs.

"Oh yes it is Krystal! Oh that is priceless. Come on Fox, ass hits don't hurt that much!" he glared as he shouted.

"Yeah, screw you too Will! Now why the hell did you have to go all rescueie?!" I almost instantly stopped laughing as I remembered what peppy had said.

"The UEC has begun its invasion. Katina is already lost."


	6. Chapter 6: Lost With All Hands

We all settled into seats as general pepper began his briefing. All except Fox, who leaned up against a wall, keeping one half of his rear end well away from any object. Krystal's arm was still bandaged as well, but it was more just to keep bacteria out.

"I know you've been here two days, but I finally found a place where I need you. This forest holds the largest ground force we have left on the planet. We need to hold the enemy back far enough that they can't use their artillery on the main base." He paused for a second as he coughed. "The enemy is known to have heavy anti-air capabilities here, and we believe they are massing infantry and armored units to take out our defense lines along here. We can not let that happen. Captain Marlowe is the local commander. Now get down there!" I watched as Fox nodded and signaled for everyone to follow.

"Hawkins, what can you tell me about human anti-air?" I thought back for a second, trying to remember the books my dad used to buy me.

"Most of the mobile stuff is Flak based weapons. Meaning, fires big ass shell in the air to detonate around a plane. With hopes that the shell nails your ass. And laying down sheets of it. Works great for area denial. Modern guns have smart rounds that can sense an aircraft and detonate near them. Harder to hit a low flying fighter than a high flying one" we all continued to march through the corridor.

"Alright, we target the guns first. Take them down and we will be free to hit anything that we need to." I stepped into one of the elevators with Mira and the rest of second flight.

"Nervous?" Mira was staring at me as she spoke.

"Not particularly. You?" she nodded and I gave her a pat on the back. "You'll be fine." She smiled as the door opened and we marched into the hanger bay. We both dropped into our fighters and started powering them up. I took a deep breath as I listened to my Arwing idle for the first time in nearly two weeks. I fired up the rest of the systems one at a time until I heard Mira through my radio.

"Hey Will, hear me okay?" I smiled as I glanced over at her Arwing.

"Loud and clear Mira!" Fox's voice rang out on the team channel as I prepared to lift my fighter off the deck.

"Alright, remember, we are here to support the Cornerian soldiers as they hold their positions. Remember what Hawkins said about the flak cannons, the more we take out, the easier this gets. not a whole lot of air power on this one." Falco's voice broke across the radio, cutting Fox off.

"So, Fox, is your seat comfortable enough?" I was confused until Katt spoke.

"I mean, we're all very concerned about your right ass cheek. Does it still hurt Fox?" I could almost hear his teeth grinding as he spoke.

"Katt, yes, my ass still hurts. What do you expect! Both of you, pay attention to the mission!" Krystal's voice seeped through the radio, in an almost longing sort of way.

"Ah, I remember the days not so long ago that I was the only one interested in Fox's ass cheeks. But alas, all good thi…." Fox screamed into the radio, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"KRYSTAL!" I decided to just lift my fighter into the air and launch out of the hanger. Mira followed me out and I could hear her giggling.

"Alright Mira, get your game face on. Remember, fast and low until those guns are down." She acknowledged as our fighters dropped into the atmosphere. Flame rose up past our shields as we led the formation downwards. As soon as the flames died away, we shot down until we were flying just above the trees. Targets started to highlight on my HUD and I started firing as we passed a massive clearing. UEC Flak cannons blew apart as we ripped past. The two of us arced up into the sky as the other wing pairs preformed their own strafing runs.

"Alright, Captain Marlowe, Flak is down and we are prepared to render any support we can. Mark a target and consider it history." Fox's voice seemed calm over the comm line.

"Oh thank god! We need fire all around us Star fox. They are coming out of the woodworks out here. And they replace them faster than we can kill them!" New targets appeared on my HUD and I gunned the engines. We raced over a small valley, firing shots into one of the tree lines. Tanks blew apart as we raced past, unable to track our fighters. I rolled around and killed my thrust, letting my fighter fall to just above thirty meters. I rammed the collective up and started firing into infantry units, sweeping fire across their lines. Individual soldiers were blasted apart by the Starfighter's weapons. I rammed the throttle in and rocketed away. Falco's voice flooded the comms as he shouted.

"We got more of those Raptors coming! A whole squadron of them!" I cursed as I shot high into the sky. Raptors looked a lot like third gen Arwings, only the wings were replaced with massive G-diffusers, and its fuselage housed a much more powerful reactor. This allowed the ship to fly entirely off the G-diffusion system, as opposed to the Fusion torch on my fighter and the ion drive on the third gens.

"Alright, remember, the Raptor flies off of its G-diffusers. Take one out, and down it goes!" I found the fighters on my radar and shot toward them. Two of the fighters adjusted toward me, one after Mira.

"Mira! Be careful, I can't help you this time!" I fired a missile at one of the two in front of me before pitching up and away.

"Just worry about your own _ass_, I'll holler if I need ya!" she put particular stress on the word _ass_ as she spoke. My missile connected, but the raptor's powerful shielding held off the whole blast. I keeled over and dove after one of them, the other chasing after my fighter. I heard an explosion and the blip behind me disappeared. Mira's fighter was behind me now, trying to catch up. "Just thought we might try something, new, ya know, work together!" I grinned as the Raptor in front me juked out of my fire. I rolled after it as it continued its strange juking patterns.

"Hey Mira, think you could get these two losers to follow you?" I was already killing my thrust and disabling the G-Diffuser, letting my fighter fall out of the sky.

"Yeah, sounds easy enough, may have to flash em my _ass _though!" She turned and shot away. Both fighters ignored my seemingly out of control fighter and went after her. I turned the systems back on and gunned the engines. There were treetops all around me for a split second, just before I leapt away to chase down the two ships. Before they even knew what was happening, I had fired all five of my remaining missiles at them. One of them managed to dodge a missile, but the other four connected. One fighter burst apart while the other drifted slowly down, completely disabled. The pilot ejected as Mira fell back into formation. "Why do you always use me as bait?" I shrugged, glancing at her.

"Well, you make very good bait. Everyone just seems to want a piece of that _ass_!" she laughed as the two of us shot over to Katt, who was tangling with two raptors on her own.

"Hey Katt, feeling lonely?" Mira let her voice take on a sing song like style as I dived after one of the ships. I managed to drop its shields as the other went after me and I pulled off. Katt knocked one of its G-Diffusers off and Mira started chasing the one behind me. It suddenly stopped and she narrowly dodged it, just for Katt to pound a pair of missiles into it. The craft blasted apart as Falco drifted over.

"Hey guys!" I glanced at the RADAR, watching as Fox killed one going after Krystal, marking the last of the Raptors.

"Great work team! We have a few more ground targets to hit, and then we are free to go back to the Great Fox!" Falco was making an expression like he was saying 'Wait for it' over and over until he suddenly put a thumbs up, just as Bill spoke.

"To bad nobody got shot in ass this time!" we all winced as Fox screamed into the radio.

"If I hear one more thing about my ass, I am making all of you clean the toilets for a week!" Mira was instantly talking.

"Don't do it Falco! Don't do it!" Falco was clearly fighting back laughter as he finally spoke.

"So McCloud, how _is_ that ass cheek these days?" the amount of noise was tremendous as everyone shouted the same name at once.

"FALCO!"

* * *

Fleet Admiral Ronald Douglas watched as the eight Cornerian fighters tore apart his ground force. And for the first time in his almost twenty year career, he was disgusted by his job. A deep voice from the corner of the bridge spoke. He glanced at the shady figure as the figure crossed his arms.

"I told you your Raptor's wouldn't stop them. The Star fox team is better than that, and their new recruits aren't bad either." His attention went back to the view screen as the ships finally pulled out.

"So how do you recommend dealing with them, Mr. O'Donnell?" he stepped up beside the admiral, dwarfing him with his almost seven foot height.

"We tell him the truth. He doesn't know about New York. Or about the MA-AR alliance. I'll tell him to meet me on Corneria." He shivered slightly as he stared at the Cornerian's cybernetic eye. It always had a way of creeping him out, although he wasn't even sure it was fully cybernetic.

"And how do you know that will work? You said you were his rival, why would he listen to you?" the man seemed angrier than usual.

"Some things have to change. It isn't about whether he will or not, it's about whether he has to or not." The Admiral glanced at him. He always seemed to know more than he let on.

"Well, in the meantime, I need you to hit a group of pirate bases along our supply lines. I suspect they are manned by Andross remnant. Maybe you'll find more proof there." The Cornerian nodded as he punched up the coordinates. He started to walk away as the man whispered something, for a second he thought it was meant for him.

"Good job pup. Now just keep yourself alive down there McCloud." The admiral stared at him for a few seconds before he marched out.

* * *

Mira was shocked at the way Will was now always wanting to hang around her now. Over the past few weeks, they had been given multiple strike missions, none of which were quite as exciting as the first one. Fox's injury had finally healed, much to Falco's disappointment. And Will had stopped wandering the ship at night. Although he still didn't sleep as much as he should. She glanced across the room at him, where he was reading something off the ships archives. He had become fascinated by the exploits of the Star Fox team. She also noticed that he was starting to work with her more and more often.

"Hey Will, I have to ask but this has to be hard on you. Having to fight humanity that is." He glanced up from the mission files on the first Saurian conflict as she spoke.

"No. I was trained to fight humans. Besides, they are the ones who killed eight million innocent people. Not the Cornerians. So until I have found and killed the bastards who did that, everyone else is just a casualty." She nodded, suddenly almost scared of him.

"Don't you think of their families back home?" he shook his head and turned away from her.

"Why? Their soldiers. Either their family accepts that or doesn't." the fear of him was slowly rising more and more.

"But, they can't all be bad, can they?" he sighed as he spoke, still not willing to look at her.

"No, but we can't think like that. We think like that, and we stop being able to pull the trigger. And that could mean death for one of our team mates. Understood? They are the enemy, nothing more." She nodded as he spoke, the fear slowly slipping away.

"Will honestly, has this war been hard on you? Don't answer as a soldier, answer as my friend." He finally turned to face her again. There was something off in the way he was sitting.

"I was the lieutenant in charge of my platoon on Ganymede. I had been selected in training to go through Officer Cadet School, that's how I managed it as a nineteen year old. Anyway, I was given the order to retreat. Abandon the colony. The insurgent force was trying to set up artillery where we were to bombard the colony, so I told my men to hold their ground. My choice, cost the lives of forty-eight people. The colony was evacuated, and not one of close to five thousand people were killed. And now, I feel like I'm killing each and every one of those soldiers again, only it's me pulling the trigger. So yeah, this is hard on me. And out there, I'm fine. It's the down time that's hard." She nodded, unsure as to what to say to him.

"I, Will? You aren't killing people who are defending civilians, your killing those insurgents again. The ones that wanted to kill the colony." He shook his head as she spoke.

"No, it doesn't feel that way. I don't know, something about this war just doesn't feel right to me. It would take more than the greed of a few leaders to get the entirety of humanity behind a full scale invasion. Something just does not feel right." She nodded and remained silent. A klaxon alarm went off and they both dragged themselves out of their chairs.

"Well, wing man, are you ready to get back out there?" he smiled as he responded.

"Only if you're out there with me." They half ran down to the hanger, since Fox was now doing the briefings in flight to save time.

* * *

Fox watched as the last of the pilots leapt into their battle scarred Arwings. He waited until most of them were done with their check lists before speaking.

"General pepper has asked us to escort four ships to a point that we can safely open the orbital gate." The UEC had started firing through the gate whenever it was opened, almost completely eradicating its tactical uses. "The Great Fox will lead the formation, and each wing pair will be assigned its own transport to protect. Each transport is carrying roughly two thousand war refugees, being taken to Corneria for shelter. Intelligence believes the enemy intends to destroy these ships. Move out!" he lifted his ship off the rail and shot out of the hanger. The seven other fighters formed up behind him as they approached the rendezvous point, thousands of clicks away from Fortuna. Something seemed off as they approached and Peppy's voice rang out over the radio.

"We have three UEC battle groups moving to engage the transports! I count three cruisers, and two destroyers per group. They are launching fighters!" Human Cruisers were between eight hundred and fifteen hundred meters long, and bristling with gun turrets. Destroyers ranged from four hundred to six hundred meters, and generally had a powerful central line main cannon.

"Alright, peppy, see what you can do about holding the battle groups back! everyone else, get to those transports and swat away any fighter that comes close to them!" he glanced back as plating all across the Great Fox shifted out of the way to let nearly eighty different gun turrets to rise out of the hull.

"Well, I guess we get to see if those disappearing guns were worth the cost." Falco's voice sounded disappointed. Everyone knew he had wanted that money for the Arwings and himself. Fox rammed the throttle forward. He was pressed back against the seat as he rocketed across space. The two Arwing interceptors shot ahead of them, while Mira and Hawkins started to fall behind. He glanced at them on the RADAR again, realizing that they were drifting away from the formation as well.

"Hawkins, Mira, where the hell are you two going!?" Hawkins almost instantly responded.

"To thin the herd." And with that their fighters peeled away from the formation. He slowed as he reached the transports and glanced at his RADAR. Hawkins and Mira seemed to be giving them hell, only going after the fighters trying to get past them, forcing as many fighters as possible to be going after them, instead of the transports.

"Bill, Lucy, go help them out!" the two fighters leapt away as they acknowledged. Their fighters started going after anything chasing Mira and Hawkins. More and more fighters broke past them as they fought to hold them back. The enemy squadrons seemed to be made of Tomcats, escorting Tridents. The trident was actually older than first contact, and was a very large slow moving fighter. It had a single fusion torch at the rear of its fuselage, and three wings, one arcing up over the hull, almost reaching the cockpit, and the other two arcing out and forward, reaching the same point as the top wing. The top profile view is what gave the fighter its name. Each one had three massive plasma cannons on each of the wings, and two smaller ones nestled in the nose, just like the Tomcat. Along with its array of missiles, this made it a devastating anti-ship fighter. "Alright, go after the tridents first, then the Tomcats. Any fighter attacking the transports takes top priority." He gunned his engines as peppy spoke.

"Well Fox, those shield upgrades and disappearing guns, worth every liat we spent on them. Two of the destroyers are down, and their shots have only dropped the shield twenty percent." Fox heard Falco groan as he dived after one of the ships. A few linked blasts, and the trident evaporated in a ball of fire. A pair of Tomcats dropped onto his tail. He didn't even have to speak to Krystal, and she was already sweeping in, destroying one of them. The other chased him as he ducked and weaved through the transports, their light weight turrets managing to destroy the fighter.

"McCloud! Shit's too thick out here, think we can get them to open the damn gate now, rather than later!" Fox shook his head at Hawkins words as he intentionally placed his fighter between the transport and a Trident. One blast nearly knocked his shield out as he fired a missile into it.

"They'll just follow them through, Hawkins." He followed Krystal as she dove into a small formation. Together, they destroyed the three tridents inside it and split up to go after Tomcats. He glanced at his RADAR and saw the sheer number of fighters now swarming past Hawkins's group. They were too tied up defending themselves to engage them. There had to be at least a hundred and forty enemy fighters, two full wings, at play against their meager eight fighters there was no way they could win this fight without back up.

"Fox, one of the transports is being swarmed under!" he shot after Krystal, joining her as they tried to sweep enemy fighters away from the transports and into the dogfights.

"Peppy, we need the Fox up here NOW!" he rolled and dove after a trident, managing to shoot the two missiles it had fired down before the Trident. Peppy acknowledged and there was a sudden flash of light as the ship Warped the distance between the engagements. Her new broadside cannon array tore into the enemy fighters with inhuman precision. Enemy fighters started to peel out of the fight to go after the Dreadnaught class vessel. Missiles they were firing managed to punch through the shields and start damaging the hull plates. Mira's voice cut across the team channel as she yelled.

"I'm hit! Lost my port wing, minor damage to the engine and port G-Diffuser. I can still fight though!" Fox was about to shout as Hawkins did so for him.

"Negative Mira, disengage and pull out! We are not losing someone just cause they are feeling heroic!" she grudgingly agreed as Fox dove after a swarm of Tomcats going after the transports. His shields had finally recharged as he swept after them. Most of the group peeled away and he chased down the last two, blasting them apart. The group then dropped onto his tail and his fighter shook as bolts slammed into his shielding. He rolled and dove, leading them toward the great fox. Cannon rounds tore the group apart as they passed the ship.

"The Great Fox's shields are down to ten percent! If this keeps up, we will have to retreat!" there were black marks all over the ship, and a few small holes as well where missiles had made it through the shields. Fox pulled away and shot back into the dogfight, clearing Falco's tail.

"Just keep at it! We kill enough of them, and they'll retreat!" just as fox said this, he saw four Tridents, just out of weapons range converge on one of the transports. They unloaded their entire missile loads into it and the Transport detonated. Fox felt a rage like none he had ever felt before boil beneath his skin as he rocketed after those fighters, destroying all four in a single pass. "WE ARE GOING TO KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU MURDERING MOTHER FUCKERS!" he shot his Arwing into their formation as his entire team shouted similar death threats. He no longer cared what happened to his fighter as he tore every fighter he could shoot into ribbons. Hawkins's ship shot past, almost a dozen fighters running from him as he slowly annihilated the entire squadron. Krystal shouted over the comms as she killed two more of the fighters.

"This is for every single innocent life you murderous scum have taken!" there was sudden chaos amongst the enemy ships, and before he could truly understand it, the fighters were pulling back. Krystal's torn apart fighter moved to chase after them, still shouting profanities at them when Hawkins spoke.

"Krystal! Stop! I don't think they knew they were targeting civilians!" her fighter slowed to a stop.

"And how the hell would you know that?!" Hawkins's voice was very calm as he spoke.

"I kept my old encryption keys. I've been trying to find one that works. As soon as you said they had taken innocent lives, their captain ordered them to retreat. I don't think they knew they were killing civilians." Puzzled thoughts raced through Fox's mind as Hawkins spoke.

"But, that doesn't make sense! They clearly didn't care about civilians when they hit Cicero! Why would they suddenly care?!" Hawkins was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke.

"This whole war doesn't make sense. Nothing does anymore." Peppy's voice broke over the radio.

"I scanned the ships wreckage. No escape pods were launched. She's lost with all hands." Fox could barely think as he piloted the fighter back toward the Great Fox. A gate opened and the three remaining transports slipped through it. Hawkins's words echoed around his skull.

_This whole war doesn't make sense. Nothing does anymore._


	7. Chapter 7: The Saurian Gamble

Mira watched as Arwings hovered into the hanger, one by one. All of them were covered in battle damage. Krystal's Arwing was missing half its wing and the ion engine wasn't aligned anymore. Sparks sputtered from it as she shakily set the ship down on the clamp. Hawkins's fighter was one of only two that seemed nearly unscathed, along with Falco's. Hawkins landed and slipped out of his fighter, wrenching his helmet off as he trotted over to her.

"What happened out there?!" she was shocked at his hollow expression.

"I'm not even sure. One of the transports was destroyed and I think they cracked our encryption. As soon as Krystal said they were killing civilians, they retreated. They did lose close to half their force too but, I don't think that's what stopped them." Mira was staring at him, utterly confused.

"I heard that, I mean the Arwings, their shredded!" he sighed as he glanced around the hanger.

"Blind rage?" she looked around in total disbelief. She had never seen the star fox team return from a mission so ragged before. Fox trotted over to them, speaking quickly.

"Hawkins, with me, Mira, help Slippy get me and Krystal's Arwings back up to combat condition. Now!" she stared at him, shocked.

"Fox, what's going on?" Fox stopped, looking at them.

"General pepper has an emergency mission. Wouldn't say more. Hawkins, you're gonna want your ground gear." He nodded and sprinted back to his ship to retrieve his rifle. She stopped him as he ran for the hanger door.

"Hey, um, Will? Be careful, okay?" he smiled to her and hugged her as he spoke.

"I will. I didn't make ranger for nothing ya know. You too." And with that he rushed off, literally leaping over Slippy, who had ducked as he went by.

"Well, Slippy, we got a lot of work to do." He nodded, his opened mouthed expression showing his complete shock.

* * *

I sprinted into the conference room, still clipping my armor on. General Pepper was on the main screen already speaking.

"As you can see, Sauria will be in the perfect position to strike at Corneria. Latest Intel suggests the UEC hopes to capture it now, reinforce it and flank our fleets off of it. We need to prevent this." He brought up a map of Sauria and zoomed in on the light foot's main village. It had been converted into a military base. "We will be sending the ground team down to place EMP devices throughout the base, disabling the defenses and letting fighters paste the base. Who are you sending down there?" Fox pointed over his shoulder at me.

"Just him." Pepper seemed locked in dis-belief.

"Just one man? I told you up to four!" Fox smirked as I watched the two of them.

"That one man, is the best ground fighter I have, given he actually has training. He'll be fine. Now how are we getting there?" Pepper brought up an image of his new flagship. It was one of only five dreadnoughts in Cornerian space. It was actually an enlarged Cornerian Assault Carrier.

"My ship is a prototype of a new carrier design. It has the ability to create a gate big enough to send destroyers through. We have not tested our new Gate Math for it, but this will be how you get there. We have a captured ODP, or Orbital Deployment Pod, that two Arwings will tow in system and drop onto the surface." I nodded as I spoke.

"ODP's are easy to spot. A lone pod is an easy target." Pepper smiled as he spoke.

"Ever since the Saurian Crisis, the planet passes through an asteroid field once a year. We happen to be in that yearly meteor shower. That will hide your pod." I nodded as Pepper spoke to Fox.

"Why only two fighters Fox?" he smirked as he spoke.

"The rest of our ships took severe damage defending the transports. We have Slippy working on ours now, but that's all we can risk. I assume the Great Fox will follow us at warp so we can get back?" Pepper nodded as he spoke.

"The pod is on its way to your ship. Should only be about ten minutes out. Get hooked up and get out there!" I left the room, followed by Krystal and Fox. I split off of from them, headed back to my cabin.

"Were the hell are you going Hawkins?" I smiled as I faced them.

"I built a surveillance drone I can link into my HUD. It'll be an extra set of eyes down there." He nodded and I sprinted back to my room, grabbing the small drone off my desk and rushing back to the hanger. The Pod was already sitting on the deck plating. The plating on it looked burned already. "Ya know, this things are supposed to be single use right?" Fox laughed as he spoke.

"Your old liberty ships were supposed to be single use, yet some made over forty crossings of an ocean." I looked at him, completely baffled.

"So you know what the hell a Liberty ship is, but you know nothing of the Trojan Horse. You're psychotic." I climbed into the small craft and strapped in.

"Nah, just been looking up old battles to see how humans fight. See ya later. I hope." He smirked as he sealed the pod and I cursed. The pod shifted as I felt the two Arwings drag it out of the hanger. I knew it was just suspended between two cables, attached to the underside of their Arwings with an explosive bolt. I was jostled for what seemed like hours until Fox spoke over the radio. "Hey, that's surprising!"

"What's surprising?!" he laughed as he spoke.

"Oh, we just actually ended up above Sauria, that's all." I almost let out a breath of relief until I remembered that I still had to survive the drop.

"And the worst is still to come, joy. Drop me." I held my breath as a small vibration echoed through the pod. I could feel it moving, slowly accelerating. Within seconds, heat started to fill the pod. It suddenly jerked as the G-diffusers kicked in, just before an almighty smash. The door screeched open to let the blissfully cool air in as I climbed out, dragging the bag of EMP charges with me. There were dinosaurs in the clearing, all of them moving closer to the pod. The one at the head looked like a triceratops, with only one horn. It was wearing a golden, almost a crown with a massive red gem in the center. "Whoa there, back off, please don't eat me!" the creature looked almost puzzled before it stopped. And spoke.

"Eat you? Nah, I'm not big on that meat thing, gore you on the other hand, sure!" I scrambled as deep into the pod as I could.

"Wait don't! I'm here with Fox and Krystal! I'm a member of the Star Fox team!" he stopped in the middle of his pawing the ground, about to charge.

"Fox! He's here! I, where is he!" I relaxed for a second before I was lurched around. The multi-ton animal was jumping around, searching the sky.

"Laying low. There's a UEC base that's not far keeping them from landing. And can you cut that out!" he stopped jumping and I finally managed to climb out.

"Oh. It's a way away from here. Did, um he say anything about me?" I shook my head as I spoke.

"No, but there wasn't really time to. And you are?" he bounced slightly as he spoke.

"Prince Tricky! Or wait, I mean King. Of the Earth walker tribe. My dad died three years ago. And I haven't seen Fox since then either." I patted his massive shoulder as I spoke.

"My condolences. And Fox hasn't really had a ship that could get here, and then this whole war thing started. He just hasn't been able to. I'm sure he means to visit." Tricky bounced as he walked with me.

"Oh. Did him and Krystal get married?" I laughed slightly as I spoke.

"Um, no. they are barely dating as far as I am aware. This is Thorntail hollow isn't it?" Tricky nodded and I continued. "Well, it's a ways away from the base. I could use a lift, if you're willing to provide." He suddenly stopped as he spoke.

"Wait, wait, wait, if you're really with Fox, why do you look like one of them?!" I backed off slightly, glancing nervously at the horn.

"Because I left the UEC over a year ago. And I kept my gear." He gave me a suspicious glare before continuing.

"Where did me and Fox meet?" I looked around nervously, trying to remember what I had read earlier.

"Um, a place called Ice Mountain. Saved you from some Sharp claws!" he stopped and canted his head at me.

"I guess you do know him. Hop on, I'll take you as close as I can." I clumsily climbed onto his back and settled in, grabbing his head fringe so I didn't fall off.

"We've tried to attack them a few times. Even with the Sharp claw helping, they have torn us apart. I got so few warriors left, I don't know what I'll do. Cloud runners have been hiding, as usual. And the light foot disappeared after they took their village. Can you really penetrate that place?" I nodded as I spoke.

"I've got the same tech as them. And my own personal drone. Speaking of which…" I unslung my pack and pulled the drone out. I activated it and an interface appeared on my HUD before I tossed it in the air. It hovered up and away until it was not but a small speck. "There, I just hope I programed it properly."

"Alright hold on tight!" I grabbed on just in time as he started galloping. I had ridden a horse before, but this was insane in comparison, and near impossible to keep from being jostled. The ride seemed to last forever, and I instantly slid off as he stopped. "Alright, this is as far as I can take you. Those guys are dead ahead from here. Be careful, okay?" I nodded and patted his heaving flank.

"Thanks a million tricky, and I'll make sure to tell Fox to visit." He grinned as he rumbled off into the forest. I gingerly picked my way through the trees, finding multiple massive corpses as I marched. The smaller, more humanoid Sharp Claw were almost four times as numerous. I sent the drone ahead of me and ducked behind a burned out tree as it scanned the base. They had sentries on the walls every few feet or so. I slipped from tree to tree getting as close as I could. I could just barely see the wrought iron gate at the base of a cobblestone wall, with the UEC's temporary wall raised high above it. There were shouts from the wall and I cursed as silver blaster bolts tore into the tree I was hiding behind. I sprinted away, firing my own shots back as I ran.

"Come on, I need a fire team up here to go after that guy!" I barely heard the shout as I ran through the trees. I slid to a stop as blaster bolts lanced by, firing my own back. My weapon emptied and I took off, narrowly dodging trees. I suddenly heard screams behind me and I stopped to see multiple tall, Raptor like creatures armed with spears tearing the fire team apart.

"Look, there goes another one!" the creature that had shouted was pointing at me with its spear.

"Oh shit-shit-shiiiiiiit!" I sprinted as fast as I could as I yelled into the mic. "Is it just me, or did we not think that I just might upset the locals!" Fox's voice came back as I heard them closing in on me.

"Just drop my name, you should be fine!" I cursed as a spear lanced over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I think we are a little beyond that now! Oh shit!" I slid to a stop on the edge of a cliff leading down into a massive river canyon. The Light foots were only seconds from me. "Son of a bitch, I hope all those games weren't lying!" and I leapt off the cliff, holding my arms out, then bringing them together as I arced downward. I didn't even feel myself hit the water.

* * *

Mira watched from the bridge of the Great Fox as they dropped out of warp. She was surprised when no one hailed them.

"Fox, Krystal, Hawkins, you out there?" Peppy's voice echoed slightly in the silent command bridge. Fox's voice came back.

"You guys got here quick! We lost contact with Hawkins yesterday. His transponder stopped and we can't find him!" Katt almost instantly spoke up.

"He rejoined his true comrades, that's why!" Mira couldn't contain herself as she lunged across the space between them, managing to get a pair of punches in on the black furred feline before Falco yanked her off.

"Whoa there you two, what the hell was that?!" she snarled at Katt as she spoke.

"My wing mate is not a traitor! Use his dog tags! I doubt those have failed!" Katt shot a glare back at Mira as fox spoke.

"Damn it, why didn't we think of that?! I got a fix on him, and he's moving, fast, toward the base." Mira shouted as she sprinted off the Bridge.

"I'm coming down there!" before she knew it, she was strapping into her fighter as Peppy spoke over the radio.

"We have a UEC battle group that just warped in. Falco, lead the team out there and help me take it out!" she lifted off and shot out of the hanger, headed for the planet. She watched her RADAR as the Great Fox fired, destroying one of the two destroyers. The other fighters shot out of the hanger, engaging enemy fighters as she entered the atmosphere.

"Damn it, he isn't responding to my hails! I hope he knows what the hell he is doing!" Krystal's voice sounded almost frantic.

* * *

My eyes slowly opened to see a long beaked, winged creature sitting over me. I shot up, checking for my weapons as I patted down my soaking wet clothes.

"Who are you? You look like the trespassers, and yet you fight them?" the creature cocked its head at me as its feminine voice spoke.

"Name's Hawkins. You?" she let her head go back to a more regular position as she spoke.

"Kyte, sole daughter of the Cloud Ruler queen." I nodded as I stood up, stretching my sore muscles.

"What happened after I jumped?" she waddled after me as I moved to the bank of the river.

"You got caught in the rapids. It took me hours to find you and pull you out of the water. You've been unconscious for almost a day." I cursed as I shook water out of my rifle.

"I need to get back to where I was. Can you point me the way?" the creature seemed to grin as I spoke.

"I can do better than that, hop on, I'll help you destroy them." I did as she asked and she spread her wings before jolting into the air. I wrapped my arms around her slender neck to keep from falling. "Are you with Fox?" I shouted back to her as the wind rushed by.

"Yeah, why?" I could barely hear her between the flapping of her wings.

"I thought I saw him flying around in that metal bird of his. With a companion. I think they were looking for you." I grinned as I hollered.

"Not surprised, that base has too much triple A for a fighter to get close. I don't think it can target you though, so that gives us a chance!" I checked my HUD to see if the drone was still connected. To my surprise, it was, and still hovering over their base. I clicked my radio on and yelled into it. "Fox, Krystal, can you hear me, over!?" there wasn't even static coming through. "Damn. Alright, you're going to drop me off, then see if you can find Fox and lead him there. Ok?" the cloud ruler was buffeted by wind as she spoke.

"Alright. What is your plan down there? Surely you can't take all of them on alone?" I almost laughed as she said that.

"No, I just need to place a few things, then fox and Krystal will deal with them." Silence stretched as we came closer and closer to the forest again.

"Are people normally this heavy? I heard that carrying someone was easy?" I laughed as she spoke.

"Yeah, maybe if it was Fox or Krystal. Fox is what, one sixty? Krystal, might hit one thirty if she was sopping wet. I'm one eighty, plus about seventy pounds of equipment and sopping wet. So yeah, someone else is probably a lot lighter." She seemed to visibly groan. I saw the base far below us and I was instantly speaking. "Alright, you're going to drop straight down in there. Now go!" she rolled over and dived, nearly dumping me off. I held on as tight as I could as I heard shouts and blasters from below. The next thing I knew, I was tumbling onto the ground and scrambling to my feet.

"Good luck!" no one seemed to have heard the dinosaur speak, or just didn't have a translator. They were all still aiming skyward and not one seemed to have noticed me land. A man came out of the building as my rifle came up. One clean shot to the head dropped him. I started sprinting to each flak cannon, dropping an EMP charge at each. Silvery bolts slammed into the dirt around me as I ducked from cover to cover, firing back whenever I could. They had clearly pumped out all of the water that had been in the village, given the photographs I had seen. I reached the last of the seven cannons and reached into the bag, only to find that it was empty.

"Shit, well here goes." I climbed up the gun barrel, just as Light foots started hurling spears at the walls, drawing the defenders attention. I reached the top and slid a live grenade down the barrel as I leapt off the turret and sprinted for the wall. The grenade blast drew the attention of two soldiers as I ran, both crumpled when I shot rounds into their chests. I leapt over the wall as an Arwing screeched overhead, light concussive bombs detonating inside the village. These bombs would only kill people, not harm structures. I hit the ground and tumbled, barely making it back to my feet in time as Light foots rushed at me. They screeched to a stop as I fired rounds at the dirt in front of them.

"You guys listen up! I'm with the Star Fox team. Fox McCloud sent me down here!" they continued to jeer at me and brandish their spears. Something rustled one of the trees to my left and I fired a round into the branches. The branch the creature had perched on snapped and it fell to the ground. The entire area was being shook and dust swirled as an Arwing gen two lowered to the ground. Mira's voice emanated out of it.

"Either you oversized lizards leave him alone, or I turn each of you into a smoking crater!" the light foots backed off before turning tail and sprinting away. Mira set the fighter down as I trotted to her.

"Hey Mira, you're here early." She grinned through her canopy as it raised.

"And you're running late. I thought this was supposed to be dealt with before we got here?" I smirked at her as I stuffed all of my gear and armor into her cargo bay.

"Oh, I always do things at the last possible second, don't ya know? Out, or be sat upon." She glared at me as she responded.

"Oh fine, but I am not riding in the cargo bay!" I grinned as I sat down in the fighter and she sat on my lap. I reached over her and grabbed the control yoke as I lifted the collective on the base of the seat. The fighter slowly rose into the air as the canopy closed.

"I'm glad you're so small, otherwise, this would be so uncomfortable." Mira was small enough that she barely came up to my chin when standing. She was grinning as she spoke.

"So this is comfortable to you, me sitting on you? And why the hell are you all wet?!" I couldn't help but grin as I rammed the throttle forward and dropped the collective back down.

"I took a swim. The water looked really nice, okay? And more comfortable than if you were say, Krystal's size, of Falco's. Although he is a feather." Her radio crackled to life with Fox's voice.

"Mira, did you find Hawkins?" she instantly spoke.

"Yes, and we are flying back up to the ship as we speak. Is there a reason he is all wet?" Fox clearly missed her question.

"Wait, how are you both flying up here? You only have the one ship?" she rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm small, I fit in his lap. Now why is he wet!?" both Fox and Krystal started laughing hysterically.

"I assume he thought the water looked nice and took as swim. Or peed his pants. You'd have to ask him." I grinned as I flew into the hanger and did my best to land without inappropriately touching her, which turned out to be harder than it sounds. The canopy opened and she didn't move.

"Um, you can get out now." She grinned as she settled in, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Yes, but it is so comfortable here. Unless you tell me how you got wet." I glared at her before easily lifting her out and setting her on the fuselage.

"There ya go. I'm gonna go change!" I leapt out of the ship before she could stop me and collected my gear. She shut her fighter down and followed me as I walked back to our cabin. I was half expecting her to follow me into the bathroom as I changed out of my clothes. She was still waiting for me as I stepped out and she stopped me from leaving.

"Will, how did you get wet?" she put a rather large amount of impatience in her voice as she spoke.

"I jumped off a cliff." I stepped around her and she grabbed my arm.

"What?! You really need to work on your decision making skills. First, riding a nuke, now jumping off of cliffs!" I grinned again as I walked out, headed for the hanger.

"Oh puh-lease, it was only because there was a pack of crazed vengeful spear carrying dinosaurs chasing me." She stopped and rolled her eyes as I typed up a few commands onto my wrist computer. It was linked to the ship, allowing me to call anyone onboard. Fox's voice rang out of the computer.

"Yes Will?" I grinned as I spoke.

"King Tricky has officially requested your presence groundside. He'd like to see Krystal too." I heard him audibly moan as he spoke.

"I really don't want to be tackled again! Do I have too?" Krystal's voice butted in. evidently, she had been listening in.

"Oh come on Fox! He is an old friend after all! We have to go see him!" he cursed before he spoke.

"Alright, we will be back. eventually." I grinned as I entered the hanger, intending to fix the small amount of damage to my fighter. I realized as I was walking up to it that somebody already had. I was about to walk out when Katt suddenly called my name out, from a deep corner of the hanger where a single fighter I didn't recognize sat, torn apart. I stared at it for a second as I approached.

"Hey Katt, isn't that an Invader Class Three? I thought only Andross used those?" she glanced at the parts strewn across the corner of the hanger.

"It used to be. I called her the Catspaw. Got torn apart above Fortuna about a year ago. Falco and Fox saved me and I've been riding with them since. It was just a few days after they got the Great Fox Two actually. Anyway, I wanted to apologize to you." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I wasn't aware that you needed too?" she grimaced as she spoke.

"Mira didn't tell you?" I shook my head and she continued. "I've been doubting you since you joined. I guess because you were human, and I realize now, that I can't have been more wrong. And I'm sorry." She finished and shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about it Katt. You have plenty of reason to doubt. I just hope that I've done enough to counter those reasons." She nodded and silence stretched between us as the door opened to reveal Falco walking out with Slippy joking about something. She continued to stare at them until I spoke.

"You really like Falco, don't you?" she nodded and I noticed the single tear slide down her cheek.

"That obvious huh? I've tried and tried with him, and he has made it clear to me that he doesn't want any semblance of a relationship. I've tried with others, but I'm always drawn back to him. It's a curse, really, and I just hope the same doesn't happen to Mira." I raised an eyebrow at her as she spoke.

"She seems nice enough. She could probably get the majority of guys out there if she tried." Katt giggled as she fought to speak.

"Are you really that thick Hawkins?" I smiled as I spoke.

"No. I know she likes me. She cares too much for her to want to just be friends. But, I'm sorry, it will always be a no. you might as well tell her now, before it's too late." She seemed to deflate as I spoke, as if she had been hoping that I felt the same about Mira.

"Oh, not into this whole alien thing, huh?" I shook my head, sadness rising up as old memories flashed through my mind.

"No. just not walking down that path. Not now, not ever again." She watched me, curiously, as if she was trying to pierce into my soul and see why.

"I have to ask, but why?" I shook my head letting that be my only answer.

"Well, I'm going to go write up a report and clean my gear. But if you need help on the Catspaw, just ask and I'll see what I can do." She smiled as she waved goodbye and I marched out of the hanger, almost running into the same Basset hound looking crew member I had seen on the first day. Almost all semblance of sadness disappeared as I fought laughter. Just the barest traces stayed, deep within my body, nothing more than a dull ache that never seemed to leave.

* * *

Fox jerked awake as images of his dream flashed through his mind. Krystal's arm wrapped around his shoulders as he sat there, shaking.

"It's okay Fox. I'm fine, and I'm right here." He shook his head, trying to get the images of Krystal being executed out of his head. There was something about the dream that seemed funny, like it wasn't entirely his.

"Krystal, I could swear it was real. It felt real, it looked real. If I hadn't woken up next to you, I would've thought it was real." He let his head rest on her as she spoke.

"Some of the images in it, that I saw, looked familiar. I could swear I have seen them before." Krystal suddenly got up and started pacing, clearly deep in her own memories. He stood up and stopped her, simply hugging her, so he could feel her warmth, her life.

"Krystal, don't worry about it. You're here, you're alive, and that is all that matters to me." Other images started to float into his mind. Images that did not seem as foreign. Images of Krystal's staff, covered in blood in his hands. Krystal's battered, lifeless body lying on the floor at his feet, a clear hole in her stomach marking the killing blow. He shivered in her arms as these images flashed through his mind.

"I've got it! Hawkins's nightmares, I see one almost every night and they are always of the same place. The place that you're at, it's the same place he is in his night mares." He nodded and patted her shoulder.

"That doesn't make sense that I had his dream, but I think you should go back to bed. I'm going to go for a walk. Try to walk this off. Sleep well okay?" she gave him a kiss before she spoke.

"Okay. Don't be long. Take care." She smiled at him and he hugged her again before he stepped out of the room. He wandered the ship until he found himself on the bridge. The only other occupant was Rob, in standby mode.

* * *

_I slid to a stop as plasma bolts ripped past overhead. Someone screamed as a plasma mortar screeched in. I watched it land almost directly on one trooper and another's leg came off. I grabbed the wounded soldier and started dragging him away._

_ "Amanda! Need you over here!" she slid to a stop beside me, tossing me a thick wad of cloth._

_ "Help me, keep that pressed on the stump!" I did as she asked and held it there as she wrapped a tunicate on his leg. I helped her haul him over to the rest of the wounded soldiers as more mortars rained down on us._

_ "We need to deal with that artillery before were all dead." She nodded as I clicked my radio on. "Ramirez, Gonzo, Roberts, get your asses to my position!" I watched Amanda's helmetless head move amongst the wounded, doing what she could for them. Her long blonde hair had fallen out of the tight bun she always had it in. she glanced up at me and smiled. Ramirez drew my attention as he spoke._

_ "We only have about twenty five troops still standing. Everyone else is either dead or injured." I nodded as I turned toward Roberts._

_ "Please tell me the Prime minister has approved something." He shook his head, looking defeated._

_ "Nothing sir, orbital fire, fighters, even an infantry unit, all denied sir." I audibly cursed as I spoke._

_ "Alright, we don't get those guns and they'll get us. Anyone up for a hike?" Ramirez instantly spoke._

_ "If it deals with danger, gunfire, and explosions, sure." I smirked as the other two nodded._

_ "Alright, get moving!" a small slender hand grabbed my arm as I was about to start moving._

_ "Be careful Will. Come back okay?" I smiled to her as I kissed her cheek._

_ "I will, love you!" I barely heard her call the words back as I sprinted off after the other three. I knew our relationship was against regulation, but I didn't care. We ran from shell hole to shell hole as we dodged mortar fire. The first gun loomed up in front of us and I signaled to Gonzales. His missile launcher came up and he fired, the gun disappearing in a cloud of smoke, sand, and debris. We were moving to the second gun when a sniper round cut into Gonzo's forehead. I dived to the dirt as Ramirez reacted, firing a trio of bolts so accurately, I could swear he had hit the sniper in the face with all three._

_ "Damn it, Gonzo's dead!" I shoved Roberts onward as we ran through the sand._

_ "I know, and we all will be if we don't destroy those mortars!" we found defenses at the next gun that we had to fight through to reach. Roberts took a round to his thigh and slumped to the sand. I grabbed his arm and slung it over my shoulder, setting him beside the gun as I changed its elevation and direction. As soon as it was aimed, I fired it, watching the rounds arc out on the satellite view and slam into the final gun. I already had a block of C4 out and was placing it._

_ "Ramirez, grab Roberts and get him back to the hill!" he nodded as he dragged him away. I stayed behind as I covered them, just before detonating the gun. Bits of metal were cast around the sky as I leapt to my feet and followed. Ramirez was suddenly speaking over the radio as I sprinted toward his position._

_ "Roberts is dead. And you need to see this." I dropped onto my stomach beside him and he handed me his binoculars. I looked through them, at the hill we had been holding, only to see a group of insurgents standing there. UEC bodies littered the ground and a man in a trench coat was walking along the line of the wounded, firing a blaster bolt into each forehead. Amanda was on the end, her hands and feet bound together and forced to her knees. She seemed to look straight at me, almost as if she was trying to say 'don't do it'. I watched in horror as the man stepped up to her and whispered something in her ear. Before I truly accepted what I was seeing, he stepped back, placed the blaster up against the back of her skull and pulled the trigger._

I jerked awake, sweat pouring out of my body as the memories flooded through my mind. Mira was standing beside my bed and she sat down beside me.

"I heard you thrashing about. Are you okay?" I shook my head as she spoke again. "Do you want to talk to me?" I didn't move for a minute, unsure what to do.

"I had a nightmare. About when my unit was wiped out." She nodded, staying politely silent as I gathered my thoughts. "Me and a couple others left our defensive positions to destroy mortars that were slowly killing us. We got back to find everyone else dead, executed by a man in a trench coat. I… I watched as they killed our medic. She had been my closest friend there. And I just sat there and watched as someone put a gun to the back of her head and fired." She placed a hand on my shoulder as I spoke.

"That's terrible. You have that dream every night, don't you?" I nodded and we stayed silent for several minutes. She reached over and wiped one of the tears off my cheek as she spoke. "Well, I'm always right here for you." I let myself give her a weak smile as I looked at her. I realized that she had tears of her own in her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've been crying?" she shook her head and another tear slid down her cheek. I pulled her into a hug just as she started sobbing, with no apparent reason.

"I can't stop thinking about them. My parents. And I am so scared that were are going to lose someone, honestly, I'm terrified it's going to be you. I've been having nightmares about it for almost a week. I… I didn't want to tell you because, I didn't want you to worry." I held her as she continued to sob, gently stroking her back.

"It's alright Mira. It's okay to be scared." She managed to look at me with a smile between sobs.

"I know. I just can't help it." her sobs slowly died down as we sat there in silence. Her body finally settled as she sat on my bed, curled into a ball.

"Mira, I'm going to go for a walk. Okay? Just need some time to think. Try to sleep while I'm gone okay?" she nodded as I wrapped my blanket around her shoulders. I grabbed a jacket and threw it on before marching onto the bridge to watch space go by. Fox was already on the bridge, shirtless and wearing cargo pants. "Fox? What are you doing up?" he glanced at me as I stood beside him.

"I could ask the same of you, kid." I smirked as he spoke.

"Don't call me kid. I know I'm years younger than you, but don't. Had a nightmare, needed to walk it off." He nodded and silence stretched between us.

"Honestly, same story here." I grunted as he spoke.

"Let me guess, something along the lines of Krystal being hurt or killed?" he nodded as he spoke.

"How did you…" I cut him off, chuckling.

"Seriously, you don't need to be a telepath to tell that she means everything to you. So what happened? If I'm allowed to ask." He frowned as he spoke.

"It was more a dream, interrupted by a second dream. First one, I beat her to near death, then I… I killed her with her staff. The second, I was lying on sand, holding binoculars as I watched a man execute her. The rest of the team was lined up beside her, already dead." I looked at him shocked.

"A man in a black trench coat." Fox nodded. He didn't even seemed shocked at all. "I… that was my nightmare, only it was more a memory of Ganymede. A man in a black trench coat executed all of the wounded, and all I could do is watch from afar." He grunted as he spoke.

"Well, Krystal suspected that she somehow transmuted your dream to me. I'm sorry Hawkins." I shrugged.

"It's the past Fox. It doesn't matter anymore." Silence stretched between us. I couldn't resist the urge to speak as my voice rang out across the bridge.

"So, what happened with Tricky?" Fox grimaced as he responded.

"Jumped up and down so hard that I think he started an earthquake. It was good to see him though. Krystal was pretty happy too." I jumped slightly as the Holographic console in front of us lit up as Rob spoke.

"Incoming transmission, flagged as urgent." Fox stepped up to the screen and answered it. General pepper appeared. He seemed more sickly than I had ever seen him. He coughed before he spoke.

"Star Fox, we have received intelligence that the enemy fleet is about to engage our main fleet. We need you out here immediately. Coordinates to follow." There was a small ping as it came through.

"Rob, set course. How long?" Rob was instantly speaking.

"One hour." I glanced at Pepper as he started coughing again. He sounded almost as if he had lung cancer.

"Did you hear that Pepper?" he nodded as he said goodbye.

"Yes Fox. Be ready for a fight, the enemy fleet is already inbound." I was already moving for the door as Fox issued the call to arms for the whole ship.


	8. Chapter 8: Razor's Edge

I rushed into my room and rushed to put my boots on, dropping the leather jacket and slipping into my flight armor. It was just a simple plate carrier with emergency equipment on it, a beacon, and mags for the pistol. I threw my belt on, which had my pistol and a few rifle mag pouches, then I grabbed my rifle off the desk with my flight helmet. Mira had thrown some cargo Capri's on under her night shirt. She tugged the shirt off and I caught a glimpse of bare chest before I could turn.

"You're pathetic." The door slid open and we marched out. She had thrown a tank top on and her blaster pistol.

"No, just polite. Come on." We marched through the halls down to the hanger. She patted my arm as we split to our separate fighters and I slipped my rifle into the special slot I built for it in my cockpit. I sealed the canopy and powered the fighter on. Fox's voice rang across the speakers as my HUD activated.

"Alright, the fleet is bogged down by Trident fighter bombers. We need to take them down so that the ships can maneuver and avoid the UEC vessels. Get out there!" I lifted my fighter off the hanger floor as the door opened. I rammed the throttle forward and shot out into space. Rob had managed to drop us out of warp at the back of the fleet. I glanced over and watched Mira form up on my wing. Explosions rocked all around us and venting atmosphere from destroyed ships was allowing sound to travel. One of the Cornerian cruisers detonated, rocking both of our fighters as it drifted apart.

"Holy shit, this is crazy!" fighters zipped by us as we split off to start chasing trident squads, mira's voice echoing out of my radio. I narrowly dodged a pair of first gen Arwings as they shot past, chasing a group of Tomcats. The Cornerian Defense Force had finally started replacing their defender class sub orbital fighters for Arwings after the Aparoid menace.

"No, this is war, get used to it, cause there is going to be a lot more of it." I rolled after one of the Tridents and watched it drift apart as I fired. I kept scanning for a working encryption key for the enemy fighters as I chased them. A voice crackled into the radio as I finished one of them.

"I want three battle groups to move to their right flank! And I have confirmation that the Star Fox team is now a part of the fight. I want Razor's edge dealing with them now!" I grinned as I started weaving through fighter formations, scattering them with plasma fire.

"General Pepper, I'm sending you an encryption key for their comms. Hope it helps." Another Trident detonated under my fire and I ruddered after his wingman. His wingman was sent spinning out of control and he ejected as Fox shot past.

"Hey Hawkins, getting a little slow there?" I grinned as I went after a Tomcat, easily destroying it.

"Not as slow as you old man!" I rolled after him, shooting down both of the Chinese Fire Arrows chasing him. Fire Arrows were dirt cheap strike fighters, only really any good in swarms. They were also fully automated, not requiring a physical pilot. I rammed the throttle back as I changed course headed for a swarm of Arrows that had gone after a fighter squad. I rammed my throttle forward and watched as ship after tiny ship blasted apart under my fire. A Cornerian pilot thanked me as I met up with Bill's interceptor. "Hey bill, having fun over here." He didn't respond for a second, ducking and weaving through an enemy fighter group.

"Yup. Wouldn't mind some help with this corvette though!" Corvettes were small ships outfitted to fight fighters, using twelve old fashioned Phalanx Defense Cannons. Phalanx cannons could fire seventy five twenty millimeter tungsten discarding sabot rounds per second, making them devastating to anything that came under its fire. It was one of the few kinetic weapons the UEC still used, and with magnetic assisted rails on each of the six barrels, made the almost out dated weapon design one of the most powerful anti-missile and ant-fighter weapons on the market.

"Sounds like fun bill. I'll play bait, you hit the guns!" I shot toward the ship, juking, rolling, looping, and using every maneuver I had learned as a stunt pilot to confuse the gun turrets. Thousands of rounds lanced through space, missing my fighter by feet as the guns tried to track me. Bill's ship shot through the fire and blew the guns apart, one at a time. The ship turned tail as soon as it became defenseless.

"Damn kid! That was some smooth flying. Later!" he shot after a pair of tomcats as I rolled slightly and rammed my yoke back, pitching the fighter away and back after a trident squad. They scattered as two of their ships exploded under my fire.

* * *

Fox veered after a fighter as it juked and dodged. He had watched Hawkins and Bill tag team the Corvette from afar, seeing Hawkins dodging massive volumes of cannon rounds. The fighter he was chasing detonated under his fire and he nearly slammed into Mira's fighter as they shot past each other. Peppy's voice rang out over the radio as Fox went after a trident.

"Fox, we may have a problem. Pepper sent two squads after an unconfirmed contact, both entirely KIA. That contact is coming up behind the fleet as we speak." Fox cursed as he rolled around and shot toward the contacts.

"Hawkins, back me up!" Hawkins acknowledged and finished off the enemy he was after as Fox passed. He caught up to Fox as fleet ships detonated all around them. They ducked and weaved through ships, weapons fire thinning out as they moved toward the back of the fleet. Hawkins's voice made him jump as he shouted.

"Fox, Pitch, now!" he yanked the yoke back just in time as a massive shell lanced past where he had just been.

"Holy shit, thanks kid!" they raced out of the fleet, the space around them suddenly seeming almost peaceful. He watched on his RADAR as the fleet eventually disappeared. They were within RADAR range of the contact and he saw twelve fighters on his screen. Just seconds later, a voice rang out over their com line.

"Why hello! Two little birdies have come to play! Would these birdies believe themselves to be flying foxies?!" his accent was extremely thick as twelve nearly black streaks shot toward them.

"Who the hell are you!?" Hawkins's voice echoed slightly as he spoke.

"Ah, yes they be flying foxies. You must be Lieutenant Hawkins! Oh, I mean _EX_-Lieutenant. Long time no hear, I believe Ganymede is the last time we spoke. You asked for support, but alas, I don't give support to those with a holier than thou complex." They both brought their fighters to a stop.

"What are you talking about you Russian son of a bitch." The voice laughed with a group of others.

"Oh where are our manners! I am the leader of the Razors Edge. And we shall be the doom you deserved over a year ago when you lead so many to their deaths!" Fox's warning alarms went crazy and both he and Hawkins split in different directions as missiles leapt after them in a massive swarm. He pulled the tightest turns he could do without losing speed. Missiles slammed into each other as he spoke again. "Ah Hawkins, did you join the ballet when I was not looking? You seem to maneuver like a stunt pilot, not a fighter pilot!"

"Shut your trap you cowardly fuck! If you had listened a year ago, forty eight men and women would still be alive today!" Fox killed his engines and flipped, firing plasma into the missiles chasing him before ramming the throttle forward and dodging the remaining missiles. They lost tracking as Raptors dropped onto his tail.

"Cowardly? No, I unlike you, was a good soldier, I followed orders! You had been ordered to with draw, and you didn't!" Fox cut in shouting as he spoke.

"At least he has the brains to not work with a government that murders innocent civilians!" Plasma lanced by Fox's cockpit and he saw Hawkins shoot past, his cannons firing on Fox's pursuers. There was a menacing laugh over the radio.

"If only you knew the truth, McCloud! If only! But then, I wouldn't get the pleasure of killing you myself!" Fox ducked and weaved, doing everything he could to just stay alive. His fighter shook and his shields nearly dropped out.

_Krystal, I hope you are paying attention! I need you here!_ He watched Hawkins in the distance as he juked and rolled, making his fighter do things even Fox wouldn't dare attempt. He saw one of the enemy fighters light up as an ejection pod launched off, the fighter detonating behind it. He couldn't understand how Hawkins could be managing to go after enemies while this out numbered.

"I had a good conversation with your father the other day. He displayed much enthusiasm in your timely death. His exact words were, 'he is no son of mine'" something in the pilots voice made it sound like he was just trying to distract them. Hawkins simply laughed as he started to chase down another one of the raptors.

"Yeah, so? I disowned him three years ago!" Krystal's voice suddenly echoed through Fox's mind as he slammed on both pedals, bringing the fighter to an instant stop so he could adjust course and shoot off into a different direction.

_Mira and I are on our way! Hold on!_ The Russians voice came back again as Fox continued to juke, watching his shields recharge and collapse over and over.

"Ah, but he also told me what an informant said to him. About Corporal Taylor. Rumor has it, that she was begging and begging for you to save her and yet, you just watched as she was executed, from a nice safe distance." There was a sudden burst of rage over the radio and even Fox winced at the force of it.

"If you say that name out of that filthy mouth of yours one more time, I will destroy you, your family, and everything to do with you! I will wipe your existence from the face of this universe!" there was a fury in his voice that Fox had never heard from him before. One that even scared Fox.

"Good, good. Now why don't you make good on that, so we can show little Amanda what you really are!"

* * *

A rage boiled beneath my skin like none other I had felt in my life. I no longer listened to the frantic radio calls, ignored the constant warning alarms. All that mattered was the destruction of the ship in front of me. It juked and dodged, trying to keep from being hit as I pounded blast after blast into its tough shielding. My fighter shook slightly as I chased him, and I ignored that too. A voice seemed to break through the veil shrouding my brain, like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel.

"Will! You have three bogeys on you! You need to break off, they are going to kill you! Please! Listen to me! This is what he wants, Will!" I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that shrouded my thoughts. My shields were down, and I had at least two missiles chasing me, plus the three fighters Mira had mentioned. I rammed the control yoke back, killed the thrust, and rammed the collective up. The three fighters and the missiles streaked by beneath me and I rammed the throttle back up, rocketing away from them.

"Mira, I… holy shit where did you come from?" she had been following the bogeys, and still was as she spoke.

"Me and Krystal came to help, now will you work with me and NOT go nuts again!" I grinned as I shot after one of the scattered fighters. We were only up against four of them. The one I was chasing suddenly rotated on the spot and stopped. I pitched up before rocketing past, narrowly missing the stream of plasma it launched. I rolled back around and fired at one of the other fighters. Before I could even begin to drop his shields, the one I had broken off of was chasing me.

"Alright, Mira, want to try a Sling shot maneuver?" she giggled over the radio as she spoke.

"Oh, I've wanted to try one since I first heard of them!" something in her words struck a memory and I fought to stay focused. Sling shots were only possible in the second gen Arwing, due to a happy mistake in the design. There was a field output by the G-diffusion system between the G-Diffusers that could catch other items, including small rocks, and the nose of another fighter. This could lock the two fighters together, so that, with the exception of particularly strenuous maneuvers, the forward pilot could guide both craft. The point that is caught is also under a tougher G field, causing the area to have less inertia, thus allowing for much greater acceleration as well. I lured three of the four fighters onto my tail.

"Now Mira!" she came in from in front of me. She killed her thrust as she rolled and pitched, her nose missing my canopy by inches. It caught perfectly and her fighter snapped into a position that was parallel to my fighter. There was only one other pilot I had seen able to catch like that. My fighter shook as she fired her thrusters, pushing both of our fighters as I began to roll us. "Break!" I deactivated the G-diffusers as I killed the throttle and pitched downward. If Mira was doing it right, she was pitching up, her collective all the way up and killing her throttle. Sure enough as I continued to pitch, she came into view, just behind the lead fighter. I fired a pair of linked blasts into him as they shot by, then dumb fired all six of my missiles, watching as three connected on the other two fighters. One fighter got hit by both missiles, and he managed to eject. The other fighter was hit with only one, and he pitched up and away from me, letting me easily drop onto his tail. He ejected as his fighter crumpled under the weapons fire.

"Hell yeah that was awesome!" her words hit that same chord in my brain and I was speaking before I could stop myself.

"Damn good job Marshall!" I was surprised when she responded.

"Thanks Will!" the Russian's voice echoed through the radio, sounding furious.

"Razor's edge, pull out! Star Fox Wins this time!" he only had three operational fighters as they shot away from us. I brought my fighter to a stop and glanced over at Mira.

"Mira, you just responded to Marshall?" she raised an eyebrow as Fox and Krystal came to a stop beside us.

"Yeah, that's my last name. So what?" I glanced at her, now totally confused.

"But, I didn't know, I whoa." My head started to spin of images of my two wing men standing side by side with the image of Mira's father between them. They all had the same eyes, and my old wingmen had the same exact fur as Mira's father.

"Will? You okay?" I was instantly speaking.

"I'll explain on the ship, now let's go finish this fight!" Fox's voice rang out over the radio as he spoke.

"Don't have to Hawkins, Pepper just radioed. That encryption key you sent, turned the tide. UEC is retreating. Great work you two!"

* * *

Mira slumped into her chair as Hawkins grabbed the photo of her parents off her desk.

"Will, what are you doing?" he didn't say a word as he pulled a PDA out of his desk drawer and started flicking through it.

"Here, you see that guy I've got my arm around?" she nodded as she stared at the picture. Something seemed familiar about the Cornerian. Will zoomed the image in on him as he spoke. "Notice anything, funny about him?" she shook her head as she spoke.

"No, Will what are you getting at?" he suddenly slapped the photo of her parents next to the digital photo. Now that the two images were side by side, she realized his old wing man could've been her dad's younger brother. Or more like his son, as she realized the age difference between them. The biggest exception, was the large chunk missing from the Cornerian's ear in will's picture

"He looks just like my dad!" Will nodded and zoomed in on the label at the bottom of the photo. _Dan Marshal and William Hawkins, January, 2237._ She glanced at the date, unsure as to when it was.

"That picture was taken the day he died. He never knew his father, and his mother had been taken as a slave before he was born. CDF raid freed them at the cost of his mother's life eight years ago. He said the only two things he kept from his dad was his name and his flying skill. That stunt we pulled today, the sling shot, he said the same thing when me and him tried it. And approached it the same way." She racked her brain, memories of a story from her mother stirring in the depths of her mind.

"I, it can't be. My dad, before he and my mother got together, loved this girl from his school days. He had proposed to her and she disappeared without a trace. This was what, twenty years ago?" her mouth dropped as Hawkins spoke again.

"Dan was about nineteen when he died. I'm sorry, it has to be rough, learning of this after he had died." She felt tears form in her eyes as she spoke.

"I, I had a brother. And you knew him. I, I don't know what to say." She buried her face into her hands as tears leaked out. She felt Hawkins pull her into a hug as he spoke.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't just keep that from you. And Mira? He was one of the best pilots I had ever met, and he started a while before you. If anyone tries to say you aren't good, just remember, you inherited the same flying skills, and he was a member of the corsairs." She nodded as she sat there, just letting him hold her.

"Will? Thank you for telling me. I would've never known. And I can't believe you didn't know my last name was Marshall. After two months of living in the same room, and you never once asked." She glanced at him as he gave her a sheepish grin.

"Believe me, I feel really stupid about it. If you want, next time we are on Corneria, I'll take you to his grave site. Only if you want to though." She nodded as she sat on her bed. He sat next to her and silence stretched between them. She was about to take her holster off as a Klaxon alarm went off.

"This is McCloud to all pilots, to the hanger immediately! I repeat!" she groaned, given they had only just got back from their last battle.

"Well, looks like it's time to get back out there. At least we're ready to go." He slung his rifle over his shoulder and scooped up both her and his helmets. She caught hers as he tossed it to her. "Well, come on lazy bum." She smiled weakly as she stood and followed him out of the room.

"I'm coming, don't worry." They walked to the hanger together and he grabbed her arm before she could go to her fighter.

"Mira, um, just be careful, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt." She nodded and smiled to him, just about to turn away when he suddenly hugged her. "I mean it. Take extra care right now." She nodded as she hugged him back.

"I will, Will. You too?" he nodded and finally let go, heading for his own fighter. She stood for a second, watching him. She shook her head and climbed into her own fighter, listening to it as it hummed to life.

* * *

Krystal finished her preflight checks as Fox spoke. She already knew what was going on, she had been in the room when the call had come.

"Apparently, they launched a ground offensive along with a space borne one. Without orbital support, our troops lost a group of key fire bases along a forested ridgeline. It is vital that we recapture these bases. Each one is capable of firing artillery in most of the valley around it. Exact targets will be given to us while we are down there." She lifted her fighter off the rail as the group left the hanger almost as one. Within minutes, they were soaring high above the tattered battlefields. She followed Fox as they strafed a group of UEC positions. Droplets of water started to bead up on her canopy as rain began to fall.

"I don't envy those infantry right now. RADAR is showing one heck of a storm coming this way." Hawkins's voice was as clear as day as the rain started coming down in thick sheets. It made it almost impossible to see outside her Arwing as she attacked enemy positions.

"This is Corporal Jackson of the nineteenth ID, me and my buddy are pinned behind enemy lines! We need air support now!" the Nineteenth was stationed at one of the fire bases, and had been rumored to have been fully wiped out.

"Fox, requesting permission to break off and assist the corporal?" his voice instantly rang across the radio.

"Go, just be quick. We'll need every fighter we have if this gets any hairier." She nodded as she pulled away, finding herself deep behind enemy lines before she found the stranded soldiers. She could just barely see the silvery bolts lancing toward them in the rain. She swooped down, firing her cannon's into the UEC troops surrounding the two soldiers.

"Oh, thank god! We'll make a break for it if you clear us a path!" she started strafing any UEC position between them and the front lines.

"I'm doing my best you two, but you gotta move now!" a trio of blips appeared on her RADAR. She could just barely see the craft in the distance, as well as their distinct shape. "Shit, I have in bound fighters. Looks like it's those razors edge fools!" she continued to strafe enemy ground until she was forced to dodge and juke fire from them.

"Hold on Krystal, I'm on my way!" Mira's voice was panicked as Krystal desperately fought back. She knew she didn't stand much of a chance against the three of them on her own. All three of them managed to drop onto her tail and she juked and rolled trying to shake them. Her fighter suddenly rocked as all three managed to nail her fighter. Her shields dropped and electronics shorted in her cockpit.

"Mayday, mayday, if anyone can hear this, I am hit and I am going down. Mayday, mayday!" she fought to keep her fighter level as she fell out of the sky. She was jerked forward against the straps as the fighter slammed into the thick mud, spraying it everywhere. Her entire body seemed to ache from the suddenness of the impact. Someone banged on the canopy and she glanced out to see the two Cornerian soldiers.

"Ma-am, you need to get out of there, they will be all over us shortly!" she undid the harness and started kicking at the canopy until it popped off. One of the mud covered soldiers yanked her out and sat on her as blaster bolts ripped through the slick mud.

"I'm fine, I can fight!" she shoved him off as she fired her pistol into one of the charging UEC infantry. "Mira, I'm down but I'm fine. Linked up with the stranded soldiers and we are moving out!" the two soldiers led the way to a deep trench that was already flooded knee deep in the downpour.

"Alright. I'm tangoing with those assholes right now. Will support when I can!" she ran through the trench with the soldiers until it began to shallow out, into more of a ditch than a trench. Blaster bolts ripped into the mud around them as she dived to the ground. She cursed as she crawled in the ankle deep water, moving to the edge to see the UEC soldiers. There had to be a full squad shooting at them. She fired back as a round grazed one of the soldiers. He gripped the wound for a second before he popped back up and kept firing. One of the soldiers hollered across to her.

"Damn it, they have us pinned down!" she cursed as she had to flatten into the mud as blaster bolts zeroed in on her position. She glanced over and saw the four man group moving to flank them and fired at them. One of them dropped as the plasma bolt slammed into his exposed face. She only hit one of his comrades, and it harmlessly burned his armor. The three humans all dived for cover as she kept firing.

"Mira, we could use some air cover right about now!" she fired at one of the soldiers as he popped up. The bolt glanced off his helmet and he dropped back down.

"Just hang on, okay!?" another soldier moved to get a better view of her and he collapsed as she nailed his exposed private regions. It was unconventional, but it least it had stopped him. The other two tried to move as one, firing at her as they ran. She flattened into the mud as blots tore into it. She popped up just as one was sliding behind a downed tree. Her bolt nailed his face before it disappeared behind the tree. She had no idea where the last of the four soldiers was.

"Mira! Where are you?" Krystal glanced skyward as she searched for the Arwing. She saw a flaming streak angle in that she quickly recognized as Mira's fighter. "Mira!" her voice was calm as she responded.

"Sorry I'm late!" and her fighter slammed into the enemy position, spraying mud as it skipped off the ground. It tumbled and the nose caught in the mud, causing the fighter to start cartwheeling until the wing caught a tree and it slammed back down, sliding to a stop on some overly large tree roots, almost eighty meters from where she had hit the ground. Krystal was up and sprinting before she even knew what she was doing.

"Someone, anyone?! Mira is down! I repeat, Mira is down, condition unknown!" she slid in the mud as she ran. Hawkins's voice spilled out of her HUD rig.

"Hang in there, I'm dealing with the Raptors. Fox is on his way, just stay where you are!" the canopy on Mira's fighter was thoroughly cracked as Krystal climbed up on it. Almost everything had been torn off in the crash. Mira was conscious inside the cockpit and Krystal fired into the edge of the canopy, letting her pry it open.

"Mira, are you alright?" pain seemed to rip across her face as she spoke. Part of her tank top had been ripped, cutting into the soft flesh above one of her lower ribs. Blood was seeping out of the wound.

"I think my rib is broken." She cursed and helped Mira climb out, setting her up against the side of the fuselage.

"Ok, I have a good fix on you! I just need to deal with this last Raptor and I'll be there! Stay where you are!" a sniper round lanced into one of the Cornerian's foreheads and he slumped to the mud.

"Negative Hawkins, we gotta move!" she grabbed one of Mira's arms and slung it over her shoulder, dragging her deeper into the woods.

* * *

My fighter raced along the ground, ducking and weaving around triple A positions all across the area. I could barely see the smoke of Mira's crash site ahead of me and I lowered the landing gear. My fighter barely slowed as it hit the ground, letting the fighter simply slide to a stop in the mud. I grabbed my rifle as the canopy opened and thick sheets of rain pummeled my helmet and bare arms. I slipped through the mud as I sprinted toward her wrecked fighter. About two feet in front of the cockpit, the nose had been ripped clean off. The only spot that seemed even remotely normal was the cockpit, with the exception of the blood in the seat.

"Fox, I'm at the crash site! I have tracks and a body. One of the infantry guys." He acknowledged as I shut my radio off. "Oh, please, please be out there Mira!" I followed the tracks deeper into the forest. Mira was having to be half carried along, if I as reading the tracks right. I found a second body lying in the mud, belonging to the other trooper. Nearby, were marks almost as if two people were dragged away, one of them kicking and fighting, the other limp. "Fox, they've been captured. I'm going after them."

"Negative Hawkins, this storm is only getting worse. Get back to the ship, and we'll come back once it blows over." I cursed into the radio as I spoke.

"With all due respect, I am going after my wingman, I am not leaving her down here!" Fox's voice turned to almost pure rage as he yelled at me.

"Damn it Hawkins, the girl I love is out there! Do you think I want to leave her out here?! We can barely see in this storm and it's already messing with our RADAR. We'll just be shot down if we try in this weather!" I cursed as I picked my way back to my fighter. I did my best to wipe mud off before dropping into the cockpit and lifting back into the air.

"I sure as hell hope you're alright Mira."

* * *

Mira's eyes slowly opened. Her chest seared as she struggled to breath. She was tied onto a table that had been tilted so someone could talk to her face to face. There was only one other person in the room, and he was a human that somehow seemed untrustworthy, and simply evil. He had short, glossy black hair and midnight black eyes, his pale skin seeming almost dead.

"Ah, miss Marshall, you're awake! My name is Malcolm Noriega, intelligence extrodinar! Now that we have been introduced, we can begin! First, I want to know how we bring down Star Fox. I'm sure you know a way to cripple them." She just glared at him. "Tsk-tsk-tsk that is not the polite way to answer." His fist was moving before she had any chance of reacting. It slammed into her ribcage, causing a massive wave of pain to rip through her body. She nearly blacked out as he spoke. "Willing to be more polite now? Hmm, pity." she didn't respond again and she closed her eyes before he swung. She didn't understand as no blow came. She had strange tugging sensation at her waist, and before she fully understood what was going on, he was forcing himself inside of her.


	9. Chapter 9: Lost

Mira slowly opened her eyes. There wasn't a single spot on her body that didn't hurt. She felt blood seeping down her cheek where a bruise had split open. There were multiple spots on her body that bruises had done so. At some point while she was out, someone had moved a screen into the room with a small camera on top of it. Noriega marched in, the same grin on his twisted features as every other time she had seen him.

"So, little mutt, are you going to talk now?" she gave him the same glare she had from the beginning. "Hmm, pity, maybe this will loosen your tongue." He clicked a button on a remote and the screen flickered on, showing Krystal dangling off of a similar table. She was as badly beaten as Mira, if not worse. "She can hear you little mutt." Mira was instantly shouting, pain ripping through her chest as she did so.

"Krystal! Can you hear me?!" her limp body didn't move. "Come on Krystal, respond! Fox is coming for us!" at the word 'fox', Krystal suddenly jerked slightly. Her head raised just enough for her to peek through her shoulder length hair.

"Mira? Oh no, what did I get you into. I'm so sorry." Her voice was weak, and one of her eyes almost didn't open because of the swelling around it. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"Don't say that Krystal. It could have been anyone down there, maybe not you even! You didn't cause this!" she remembered Noriega was still in the room, and she glanced at him. The triumphant grin on his face was a thousand times more terrifying than it had previously been

"Mira." Her head drooped back down as her eyes closed. Noriega moved over to the table as he spoke.

"Guards, make sure she stays awake. I want her to see this. And miss mutt, I was under the impression that you were mute, and the only communication you were capable of was glaring. So, how do we cripple the Star Fox team?" she still just glared at him. There was a quiet rasp as he pulled out a knife out. He gracefully twirled the knife in front of her face. Her eyes widened as she stared at it. It looked just like the one Hawkins carried. "Do you like it? There is only a few hundred of these left. This particular knife was made over a century ago. I wonder if it's even still sharp." He stopped twirling the knife and jabbed it into her gut. The blade only went in an inch or so, but the pain was still excruciating. She screamed and Krystal seemed to jolt awake on the screen.

"Mira! No! Just hang in there!" Mira screamed again as he jabbed the knife into her again. Her gut felt like it was on fire. Her head drooped down and she watched the blood leaking out of her body. There was a quiet rasp as the knife was put away.

"Well, I am going to go visit your friend. Someone will be along to deal with you today." He stepped out of the room and she fought to stay awake.

"Krystal, what is going to happen to us?" Mira could barely speak. She felt that she was growing weaker by the second.

"Mira, Fox will come for us! Just hang in there!" her mind was starting to become clouded. "Mira! Mira stay awake! You gotta stay awake! Hawkins is coming!" she tried to stay awake, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop herself from slipping away. Fire seemed to course through her veins and she jolted awake. Noriega was now on the screen, standing with a semi-conscious Krystal.

"Why hello there mutt. Glad to see you're awake. Was the electric shock pleasant enough?" She glared at the camera as he spoke.

"If you lay a finger on her, I will tear you apart!" Noriega simply laughed as his knife slipped into his hand.

"Oh, don't worry, my fingers won't touch her." Before she could even think to shout, he reversed his grip on the blade and plunged it deep into Krystal's thigh. Krystal screamed, but it was nothing to the shriek that seemed to be emanating out of her own mind. It was as if she was being stabbed a thousand times over. "Ah, boys, we have ourselves a telepath! Delightful!" he slipped the knife into a sheathe and his hand moved off the screen, coming back with Krystal's staff in hand. "That explains this, when you want to fight, or use it you have to think to cause it to open. I have been studying it. It is a fascinating weapon. Let's see how effective it is, shall we?" she started speaking as loudly as she could.

"No! Don't hurt her! I'll do anything!" he grinned as he extended the staff to its full length, before artfully twirling it and stabbing the weapon through Krystal's abdomen. She barely screamed, but there was a telepathic blast only describable as an explosion, ripping through the mind of every person in the area. Even the two soldiers in her room were clenching their heads. The only person that seemed unaffected was Noriega. The scream ebbed away as a soldier marched into the room Noriega was in.

"Sir, the Star Fox team has destroyed our EMP cannons. They are strafing the platform so they can land as we speak." Noriega smiled as he spoke.

"Deploy the Green berets around the other prisoner. I must go speak with her." The soldier looked bewildered.

"But sir, the skies are contested! It's the Star Fox team, they'll shoot you out of the sky!" his grin spread as he spoke.

"No, they are here for her, and since they will have every reason to believe she is here, they won't bother with my ship. I want snipers on the wall and base buildings. When they leave their cockpits, kill them." Noriega marched out of the room. Krystal was limp on the camera feed.

"Krystal? Krystal!?" she still didn't move as Mira shouted at the top of her lungs.

* * *

I ducked and weaved through the flak field. Slippy shot past, flying Katt's Arwing. He had insisted on helping rescue Krystal. Fox and Falco shot past, missiles fired from their fighters destroying flak turrets.

"Alright, the base the pathfinders reached is coming up! Be ready for anything!" Fox had ordered a group of Cornerian scouts, known as pathfinders, to track where they had dragged Krystal and Mira. The path had led to one of the captured fire bases. Slippy was speaking while I stared at the base, still kilometers away.

"Boss, they are charging EMP cannons! I'm not sure we'll make it with those going. They don't even have to hit us, just get close and we go down!" Fox cursed as he spoke.

"Alright gentlemen, ideas?" I instantly spoke, ramming the fighter's throttle forward.

"Just one, kill every last one of them!" I ignored him as Fox shouted behind me. I pitched down, targeting the first gun. There was a sudden shriek that seemed to fill my mind. I could barely stay in control as I strafed the gun turret, managing to destroy two in a single pass. I had the distinct feeling that I had been stabbed in the leg, even though I knew I hadn't. The gunners fired their EMP cannons, their shots going so widely that they would've missed a human dreadnaught. EMP cannons toke time to charge, giving us a chance to destroy them. The others swept in destroying the remaining turrets.

"Alright, that had to be Krystal, Hawkins, me and you will go down there and pull them out! Falco, Slippy, cover us!" they acknowledged just as a second shriek ripped across the air. This one seemed much more explosive, and none of us were able to truly push it out. "Damn it what are they doing to her!" I saw a transport lift off and shoot away as we landed.

"Fox, maybe we should follow that drop ship?" I dived out of my fighter, rushing to the closest piece of solid cover as Falco and Slippy crisscrossed over us, strafing soldiers. We both had our rifles and I had thrown my infantry rig on over my t-shirt. Fox slid to a stop by a doorway he landed close to.

"No, she's here. I can feel her." I nodded to him as I slid to a stop beside him. He hit the door switch and we rolled around the corner. I was instantly moving into the room, firing on the fire team of soldiers that had hunkered down into the room. Fox stupidly stayed in the doorway, instantly pinned down. A grenade and a few more rifle blasts finished off the remaining soldiers as I sprinted deeper into the base, moving down a stair case. Fox was right behind me as we rounded a corner into a long corridor. We fired simultaneously, killing the two guards hovering over one of the cell doors. I ran to it, sliding into the room. My jaw dropped in horror at the sight before me. Krystal was strapped to a table that had been tilted up, so she was upright. She had been stripped of her flight suit, left in the tank top and underwear she wore beneath it. Her body was covered with bruises, most of which had split open, letting small amounts of blood out of the wounds. The most shocking, was the two meter long staff stabbed clean through her abdomen, and the blood still leaking from a slit in her thigh. Fox rushed in, having been seconds behind me. He froze as he saw her.

"Krystal!" he rushed to her, about to yank the staff out of her.

"Wait, Fox, you yank that out and you might kill her! That could be the only thing keeping her from bleeding out!" he stared at it for a second before shoving it deeper, until it was up to its halfway point. She was screaming the whole time he did so.

"I'm so sorry Krystal!" the staff collapsed back down to the size I was used to seeing it, just barely protruding out of her. Fox blasted the chains that held her to the table as I wrapped a bandage on her thigh, just before putting a tunicate on just above the deep wound.

"Alright Fox, get her out of here, I'll go find Mira!" I was just about to step out when Krystal's weak voice stopped me.

"Wait… She's… she'ss not… not here." She could barely open one of her eyes through the swelling around it.

"Where is she!?" Krystal was fighting just to stay awake as she leaned on Fox.

"I… Don't know. Noriega. Was leaving. Going… going to…" I stopped her before she could say more.

"To Mira. Fox, get her out of here, get Falco and Slippy to cover you. As soon as you can, get your ass back down here." He nodded as I sprinted out of the room. I was leaping back into my fighter and leaping into the air with in seconds. The drop ship was at the edge of my RADAR and I rammed the throttle forward as I raced after it. I switched my radio to broadcast on all frequencies as I yelled into it.

"Where is she Noriega!" my finger jerked the trigger on the control yoke, firing rounds into the drop ship until I was able to nail one of the four engines.

"Hawkins, how delightful to meet you finally! I thought you didn't care if your wingmen survived?! You did simply stay in your fighter with the last one!" I fired another linked blast, tearing the bay door off the craft.

"You either tell me where she is, or I blast your ass into smithereens!" the man laughed as he spoke.

"Ah, straight to the point I guess. Why, there is a UEC base ahead of us! Just follow this heading there, and she is in the prison center! Good luck though, you'll be dead before you ever reach her! Cheers!" I fired linked blasts into the other three engines and watched the craft slam into the forests below. The UEC base he mentioned was one of the firebases that had been captured. And it was also the heaviest defended of all of them.

"Hold on Mira, I'm coming!" I rammed the throttle forward and lined up to strafe the base. A few turrets exploded as I pulled away and veered back down toward them. An EMP blast rocked my fighter, knocking the power out. My analog controls still worked as I dropped the fighter into the landing pad. It slid on the concrete until it slammed into one of the hangers and my world went black.

* * *

I shook my head, trying to get my view to stop swimming. The nose of my fighter, instead of crumpling on the hardened hanger, caused the fighter swing into it, slamming the starboard section into the hard wall. I opened the canopy and stumbled out, my weapon in hand. Two soldiers moved to stop me, weapons raised. They were shouting something, but I couldn't understand it through the ringing in my ears. I raised my rifle and somehow managed to shoot both of them. I stumbled and trudged along the ground, falling to my knees more than once as I fought my way to the doorway.

"Mira. I'm coming. Just hold on." My voice seemed to have a mind of its own. A scream seemed to penetrate the fog that had settled over all of my senses. It sounded like Mira's voice. Two more soldiers came out of the doorway and I missed with my first shot. The second and third found their marks, burying into the soldiers chest. I stumbled past and into the doorway. An elevator took me down to the interrogation rooms. I stepped out and narrowly dodged the weapons fire that lanced toward me. I fired back, missing more often than I hit as I tried to shoot back. The plasma fire ceased as Fox's voice seemed to come from the end of a very long tunnel.

"I see his fighter, but I don't see him!" I stepped around the corner and kept marching. I fell onto one of the walls as my view swam. A pair of massive shapes stepped out of side halls. They were a foot taller than a regular soldier, and their backs seemed to bulge out into a giant turtle shell shape. They had old style dome helmets. I raised my rifle, about to fire as one of them hollered.

"Wait, L-T?" he raised the visor on his armor, revealing Ramirez's scarred face. I aimed my rifle and fired every round I had left in it at the two of them. Both collapsed to the ground, one with a neat hole punched in his visor, the other a hole through his thigh. "Hawkins, stop! Why are you working for the Cornerians!?" I kept walking, my voice seeming foreign to me.

"Because the UEC are murderers." He didn't get to respond as I stumbled into the room they had been guarding. I slung the rifle as I used my knife to pry the cuffs off of Mira's hands and ankles. She had been as badly beaten as Krystal, and had two stab wounds on her stomach. Her clothes were in tatters. She fell into my arms, almost knocking me over.

"Will…" her voice was less than a whisper as I pulled an arm over my shoulder and drew my pistol. I stumbled out of the room, dragging her with me. Ramirez had scuttled over to a wall and stripped off the powered armor. He was clutching his leg where the tungsten slug had ripped through.

"Will, wait! Oh god, who did that to her?" my weapon raised and centered on his forehead.

"You, and your UEC did this to her! And eight million other innocent lives!" my finger was tightening on the trigger.

"Will, wait, what are you doing?! Don't shoot! It's me, Ramirez! Your teammate! You're Brother! Don't shoot please man!" I shifted my arm slightly and squeezed the trigger. Concrete blasted off the wall as the plasma slammed into it.

"If I see you again, I won't hesitate." He gulped as he spoke.

"Will, I, what changed?" I kept walking, ignoring him. We reached the elevator and I swayed into the wall as it rose up toward the surface. The ground seemed to be shaking along with it bending and warping in my vision. A searing pain ripped through my leg as I stepped out of the building. Mira and I collapsed to the ground and I wrapped an arm around her as I started crawling, dragging her with me. The ground shook again as an Arwing roared over.

"I see them! Lucy, land the freighter, hook his fighter up!" I glanced up as the freighter lowered to the ground. A wench was connected to the fighter by the rabbit like figure as a green armored figure rushed out, his Cornerian heavy rifle blasting rounds out. His two floppy ears stuck out of the top of his helmet as he helped me to my feet. I held on to Mira as he half dragged the two of us into the freighter, dropping us on the deck. My vison blurred and started to blacken as the rabbit shot into the room. The darkness consumed me as the ship lurched into the air.

* * *

Fox stared through the infirmary's glass, his eyes fixed on Krystal. Peppy's voice startled Fox as he spoke.

"How are they?" Fox glanced at Mira and Hawkins lying beside her.

"Hawkins was awake a little while ago. He is heavily concussed from the crash, but he was still coherent. Blast on the back of his thigh is minor. Mira has a badly punctured lung. Doc is hoping he can mend it, but if he can't, she won't be fighting anymore. She'll need a lung transplant, if that's the case. Most of the outer damage is minor and will heal up with time. The two stab wounds weren't deep, but he wants to keep an eye on her stitches. Krystal is in the worst shape of the three of them. She was barely conscious when we found her. Was out by the time she was aboard. If Hawkins hadn't kept me from pulling the staff out, she would be in a body bag. Doc is optimistic about it. Neither her or Mira have woken up." Doc was a very baggy skinned Cornerian with a longer muzzle than most Cornerians. He had been a combat medic for the military before he went to med school.

"What about the fighters?" Peppy seemed quieter than usual.

"Krystal's and Mira's are both totaled. We aren't exactly sure what happened to Hawkins's though. Right wing and G-diffuser are half crushed, and there are some armor scrapes along the bottom. Best guess is that he was hit by an EMP, and his systems came back as he crashed. A few of the shield capacitors fried, all in the nose. Slippy is already working on it." Peppy nodded as silence stretched between them. He sighed as he spoke.

"Well, I asked general Pepper. We're going to Corneria for some rest and relaxation. Plus, need to stock up on parts. Been given a blank check for replacing equipment. I'll have Katt start tracking down another second gen for Mira." Fox nodded as his attention returned to Krystal. Peppy patted his arm before marching off to the bridge. Fox had never seen any of his team mates hurt this badly, with exception of Peppy after the Aparoid threat. They had crossed death so many times, and yet, this was the first time any of them had been seriously injured. He stepped through the door and sat on Krystal's bed, gently stroking her cheek.

"Please be okay Krystal. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't. I love you." She smiled slightly at his touch, as if she knew he was there. Of course, knowing her telepathy, she might just know he was there. Hawkins stirred and he dropped his hand as Hawkins slowly sat up.

"Hey Fox. How are those two?" he had a hand pressed to his forehead as he spoke.

"Neither one has woken. Mira's lung may not be repairable, but, she will be fine. Krystal, she's a wild card. One missed thing and she might slip away. What about you?" he smirked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Like hell. Head ache the size of Texas, and my whole body is sore. But I'm alive." Fox smirked as he let his gaze fall back to Krystal's battered body. "How's my fighter? Was it recoverable?" Fox absently nodded as he spoke.

"Yeah. Minor damage. Slippy is on it." he nodded as he sat there in silence. There was a rustle of cloth on cloth as he glanced over. Hawkins was sliding off the bed, swaying for a second as he clutched his forehead.

"I'm going to get some real clothes. Always hated patient's gowns." Fox instantly stood, stopping him at the door.

"Wait, Doc wants you to stay in here." Hawkins shrugged as he responded.

"I'll be fine. Wouldn't mind some company though." Fox grunted and they stepped out the door. Although he was swaying slightly, he moved just fine. Hawkins stepped into his cabin and grabbed some clothes before disappearing into the bathroom. Fox had never been in their room. Mira's desk was covered in Knick-knacks. From a jewelry box, hand carved wooden models, a hand mirror, a picture of her parents, as well as other random items. Hawkins's desk had a weapon maintenance kit, a large PDA, and a model second generation Arwing, painted in the corsairs colors. He had also attached hooks to the wall that his armor and weapons hung from, rather than down in the armory.

"Much better." Hawkins was stepping out of the bathroom, stuffing his dog tags in his shirt. He stopped and closed his eyes, his swaying increasing for a few seconds.

"You alright?" he nodded and let the sway subside before he spoke.

"Yeah. Just a pain spike. Come on." He led the way back to the Infirmary. They both sat down on separate beds as they listened to the breath of the other two. Doc marched in as the two of them sat there.

"Hello Fox." His deep voice was surprisingly calming. Hawkins glanced up at him speaking.

"Hello Doctor Bassett Hound." Doc raised an eyebrow at him, the folds of his skin nearly destroying the expression.

"My name is Gregory Townsend. I expect you to use it in my infirmary." Hawkins smirked as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, didn't really know your name." Doc glanced at the two of them, then at Hawkins's clothing.

"I assume Mr. McCloud brought your clothes here?" Hawkins shook his head.

"No, I went and got them. Put em on myself. Fox did go with though." The Doc nodded, surprisingly not angry at him.

"Any trouble?" Hawkins shook his head, instantly clutching it. He sat there for a few seconds before he continued.

"Not really. Leg burns but that's it. Had a few flare ups in my head ache but stayed on my feet. Better than my last concussion actually." Doc nodded and took some notes on his computer.

"Alright. If your flare ups are gone tomorrow, ill release you. Next time, check with me before you go do something. Either of the other two wake up?" Fox shook his head and Doc left. He moved back to Krystal's bed as silence fell in the infirmary.

"Mira?" Will's voice startled him and he glanced over in time to see Mira roll onto her side, facing away from Will. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she grimaced.

"Leave me alone Hawkins." Fox imagined that his own face had to match Will's bewildered one.

"Mira, what did he do? As far as I checked, he saved you and Krystal's lives yesterday?" she glared at Fox as he spoke.

"You too McCloud." His complete confusion rose as he stared at her. "What, think I'm interesting or something? Eyes off jerk wad." Fox looked at Hawkins, who shrugged at his questioning gaze.

"Well, I'm going to go catch Doc. I'm sure he wants to know you're awake." He stood to leave as she spoke.

"Yeah, you do that." There was a bitterness in her voice that scared him. Fox stopped at the door as Hawkins stood and moved to in front of her.

"Mira, what's wrong. Talk to me." She just glared at him, not speaking. "Mira, did I do something to you?" she shook her head as she spoke.

"No. Now screw off." He went back to his bed as Fox left the room, as bewildered as Hawkins.

* * *

Krystal slowly became aware of light seeping through her eyelids. She could feel Fox's presence, sitting on her bed. Her hand was in his and she closed her fingers around his.

"Hey Fox." She let a small smile cross her face as he spoke.

"Krystal! You're awake!" she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Yes. And thank you for staying by my bed. I could feel you almost the whole time. He returned the smile, happier than she had seen him in months.

"Really?" she nodded and he spoke further. "You've been out for almost three days. A couple more days and we'll be at Corneria. Pepper approved leave for us." His grin faded as she spoke.

"How's Mira?" he dropped his eyes from her as he spoke.

"Physically, better. Not as much as you, but, she was released from the infirmary. The stabs to her stomach were less than an inch deep. Most of the bruising has faded, but some of the cuts just won't heal." Krystal felt confused.

"Well, that's all good news, isn't it?" he nodded and waited to speak, lost in thought.

"She… changed down there. She's been violent to the crew, especially Hawkins. Kicked him out of their cabin, so he's been bunking with bill. She spends all of her time between meals cooped up in her room all day. Never leaves and yells at anyone who tries to speak to her." Bill and Lucy couldn't stand sleeping in the same room together, so they were the only pilots with their own rooms. Worry quickly grew in her heart as Fox spoke.

"Oh my. Fox, can I go talk to her? Well, if you get me some clothes, of course. By the way, did you recover my staff?" he nodded as he stood up, still holding her hand.

"Yeah. And we have to talk to Doc about you leaving, he might say no." he winked as he trotted out the door, his tail disappearing after him. She settled back against her pillow to wait. The door slid open and she sat up to see Doc walk in.

"Oh, hey Gregory. It's good to see you!" he froze for a second, and she knew he was smiling, but his skin was so baggy that she just couldn't see it.

"Krystal! You're awake! This is, this is great!" she laughed as he rushed to his desk and grabbed some of his instruments.

"I just gotta do another scan of you if you don't mind. Just want to see how things are doing in there. Your cuts and bruises have healed very well. With a few more treatments, none of the cuts will scar. The knife wound on the other hand, may still. Same as your gut." She nodded as she lay flat. He ran the scanner over her a few times before displaying it on the screen.

"Well, the hairline fractures around your eye have started healing already. Mind you, those will be painful for a few weeks, but they will heal just fine. There is a bruise on your femur I would like to keep an eye on. We think the knife clipped it on the way through." The screen changed to a scan of her organs and muscle structure. "I already have you on pain meds for that. I had to use Bio-degradable patches on your internal injuries. They have formed thin membranes but nothing more. I do not recommend eating solid food at this time. Or particularly acidic food for that matter. I'll prepare some fairly tasty nutrient shakes for you. And your muscle will need at least a week or two before I'd let you walk without crutches. You may rip it if you don't. I've injected some muscle relaxers into it so it won't work real well. All in all, it'll will be a while for a full recovery, but you will recover." She smiled at him as she spoke.

"Well that all sounds great Doc!" he nodded as he put his scanner down.

"Well, you're allowed to move around the ship, but don't go down to Corneria until you clear it with me. I'm sure you'd like some clothes, so I'll call Fox up. He probably would like to know." She spoke up, trying to stop him.

"Fox already knows. He left to grab some clothes." Just as she said this, Fox strode in, some of her clothes tucked under his arm.

"Oh hey Doc, she allowed to leave?" he nodded and Fox continued. "Alright. I'll stick with her." Doc's voice echoed to them as he slipped into his office.

"Oh, Krystal, I want you sleeping in the infirmary for a few days, if you don't mind." She smiled as she called back.

"That's fine with me!" Fox helped her dress and grabbed a pair of crutches off the wall, adjusting them for her. She finally spoke as they marched out of the medical bay. "Fox, do you remember when we destroyed the Aparoid queen?" he raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled.

"I don't think I'm forgetting that any time soon." She chuckled herself as she spoke.

"Well, I just want to know what happened. I mean, with humanity. They sent what, one hundred and fifty ships to help with the Aparoid threat. And they got there after we had already destroyed them. Then the UEC started sending aid ships by the hundreds. Helping find survivors, rebuilding Corneria city. Trade had increased. We were becoming, more or less, allies. What changed?" they stopped as Fox stared at her.

"I don't know. But that doesn't make any sense. If this war was about greed, they wouldn't have sent those ships." They stood there, thinking, until Krystal remembered what they had been doing.

"We should keep moving. Mira?" he smiled and nodded, walking with her through the hall. He kept glancing at her as they walked. She could feel the happiness and relief simply radiating off of him.

"Krystal, before I forget, I love your hair. You look better with it longer." She grinned at him as he spoke. She had decided to let her hair grow out a few months ago.

"Oh, it probably looks like crap right now." He brushed some rouge hairs back down as he spoke.

"No, it always looks beautiful." She felt blood rush to her cheeks as he spoke. Her tail flicked nervously.

"Fox, you shameless flirt. What happened to the cute, always embarrassed around me person. Now it's me that's always embarrassed." He laughed as she spoke.

"Well, I asked you out for one. And I guess it was just time for the tables to turn." They both laughed as he knocked on Mira's door. All thought of laughter disappeared as Mira shouted through the door.

"Leave me alone!" she frowned as she spoke through the door.

"Mira, its Krystal!" she bit her lip as she waited for a response.

"So what? You heard me!" she sighed as she turned to Fox.

"Can you override the door lock?" he nodded as he punched in the command. The door slid open and Krystal crutched in. the room was almost pitch black, and she could barely see Mira sitting on her bed, facing the door. Krystal slowly lowered onto the foot of her bed as Mira shied away.

"I told you to leave me alone." Krystal raised her eyebrows at her as she spoke.

"I thought you would've wanted to know that I was awake. We are friends, right?" she laughed, coldly and mirthlessly.

"And where did you get that idea? Ha, you're funny!" the cold glare she was shooting past her curled up knees looked dangerous.

"Mira, what's wrong? This isn't you." She laughed again, just as coldly.

"And how would you know? I met you only a couple of months ago." Krystal felt the pain in Mira's heart, but she couldn't get a read on her thoughts.

"Mira, we have fought together. You have always been the one looking out for our welfare and the humans." She glared at Krystal so furiously that one might think the next thing she looked at might explode.

"Well, I was wrong too. Humans are just a bunch of soulless murderers. They only care about the blood they spill." Krystal felt confused as Mira spoke.

"Mira? What about Will? Surely you don't…" Mira cut her off as she spoke.

"He's just waiting to stab us in the back." Krystal fought down her bewilderment as she spoke.

"Mira, this isn't you! You are a kind and loving person, and I thought you trusted your wing man?" she chuckled as she spoke.

"And who says that all wasn't just an act." Krystal stared at her for a second, fighting the urge to yell at her.

"Mira, you can't act in front of a telepath. It's why I hate old style theater." She heard the rasp of metal on metal and froze.

"Get out." There was a dangerous note in her tone of voice.

"No." Krystal watched as Mira pointed Hawkins's blaster at her chest.

"I told you to get out, otherwise, I will shoot you right here!" something kept Krystal riveted to the bed.

"Mira, I am not going to leave you like this. If you want to shoot me, so be it, but I am not leaving." Mira suddenly shot to the door. It slid open and she heard Fox shout as he was shoved out of the way.

"Krystal, was she carrying a gun?" she nodded as she spoke.

"Call Will. She isn't going to listen to me." He nodded as he punched commands into his wrist computer.

* * *

I startled slightly as my wrist vibrated. I answered and Fox's voice burst through the unit.

"Will, we need your help. Mira just threatened Krystal with your pistol! She ran off and we don't know where." I sat up from where I had been trying to relax in my temporary bunk.

"I… okay. I think I know where she went." I hung up as I grabbed my leather jacket and trotted out of the room. The elevator whisked me down to the vehicle bay. The vehicle bay and the hanger used to be one and the same on the Great Fox. During her reconstruction, they changed the design, building a large hanger floor instead of catapults, letting them carry more fighters. The vehicle bay sat in the area beneath the Hanger, sealed off from space unless deploying the two Land Masters from it. It still deployed out of the same main door though, just beneath the two main cannons. People hardly went down there, and the lights were never on because of that. I had only been in there once before, when I had been looking for a quiet place to stay. I walked through the doorway and let it close me into darkness. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and I searched the bay for her. It wasn't long before I heard her sobbing. She had curled up between the wheels on one of the Land Masters.

"Mira." I crouched in front of her as I spoke. She jumped as she glanced up.

"Leave me alone Will!" I stared at her for a second before I held my hand out.

"Give me the gun Mira." She shook her head as she aimed it between her legs, straight at my chest.

"Leave me alone or I swear I will shoot you!" I didn't flinch as I spoke.

"No you won't. You would never shoot someone you cared about." She almost yelled as she spoke.

"Yes I will! Especially if it's you!" I was very calm as I spoke slowly and quietly.

"Then shoot me. Because I will never leave your side. And if that means you have to shoot me, then so be it." her voice shook as she responded.

"You would risk me killing you?" I nodded as gently as I could. "Why!? I'm worthless! I can't fly, I can't fight! I have no family! I'm not worth anything!" I gently placed my hand on the weapon, flicking the safety in place as I did so. The safety disconnected the battery in the magazine from the laser and magnetic rail in the weapon, preventing it from firing.

"You are worth something to me." She retorted so quickly I almost jumped.

"No I'm not." I shook my head as I continued.

"No, I wouldn't have tried so hard to find you if that was true Mira." She snarled at me as I spoke.

"Then you're a moron." She moved so fast that I almost didn't know what she had done. Her fist slammed into my face and I let go of the gun, stupidly placing my hand on my cheek. The pistol was rammed up against her temple and she pulled the trigger. She pulled the weapon away from her head, confused. Before she could recover, I yanked it out of her hand and sent it skidding away. "I, what, how?" tears filled my eyes as images of what she had just tried to do filled my mind.

"Mira, what did he do to you? You can talk to me." Tears ran freely down her face as she shoved me out of the way and sprinted out of the bay. I instantly called up Fox.

"Fox, we need to talk. Go into my room, grab every weapon in there and lock it into the armory. Do the same with every weapon on the ship and lock down the armory! Pass it off as pre leave prep or some shit like that. Do not alarm the crew." he sounded confused on the radio.

"Will? What happened down there!?" I just shook my head and closed the link.


	10. Chapter 10: The Grave Yard

Fox paced back and forth in his room. Krystal was lying on the bed as they waited for Hawkins to get back. Fox jumped as the door opened and he walked in, tossing his blaster onto the desk. They both stared expectantly at him as he sat in one of the chairs.

"Well, Hawkins what happened?" Krystal kept her voice quiet and calm as she spoke.

"Fox, can I speak to you. Alone." Fox stopped pacing as he stared at Hawkins.

"Anything you can say to me, you can say to Krystal." Hawkins let his head drop into his hands.

"I found Mira down in the vehicle bay. She was curled up between the tires of one of the Land Masters. She… she just gave me the weapon and ran out of the bay." Fox could see in the way he was sitting that hadn't been the full truth.

"That isn't everything, is it Will?" he didn't look at Krystal as she spoke.

"Fox, may I talk to you? In private? Now." Fox raised an eyebrow at him.

"Were in private right now." He glanced nervously at Krystal as he spoke.

"No offense, but without Krystal. I don't mean to be rude, please don't take it that way Krystal." She was already glaring at him.

"Alright fine. Krystal, I'll be right back. I promise." Hawkins stood and followed him out the room. Fox rounded on him as soon as the door closed.

"What the hell is it!" he shook his head and led the way through the ship. He stopped by the door to the briefing room and pointed inside. Fox opened the door and stepped into the room. Will sealed the door and sat down.

"Fox, Mira tried to kill herself." Fox felt his heart skip a beat as Hawkins spoke.

"What?" he nodded as he continued.

"I had my hand on the weapon, she hit me. Put the weapon to the side of her head and pulled the trigger." Fox stared at him for a second, confused.

"Why didn't it go off?" he smirked slightly as he spoke.

"I turned the safety on. Did you lock down the armory?" Fox shook his head.

"No. I did grab your gear out of her room though." He punched in to call peppy on the com line. "Peppy, lock the armory. No one in or out and instruct any crew with personal weapons to lock them up or keep them on them at all times. Now!" Peppy acknowledged as he finished.

"Don't tell Krystal. Okay? Let's keep this between us. I'll try to work with her for now. Krystal will just kinda rush in. and that would be bad for her. Ok? I know they are friends, just, Krystal's social skills are, well lacking. Just don't tell her please." Fox nodded as Hawkins stood and started pacing.

"I won't Hawkins, I promise. You look like this is really bothering you." He nodded as he continued to pace.

"One of my squad mates killed himself in basic. I was right there when he did it. So yeah, this bothers me." There was an angry tone in his voice. If Fox didn't know better, he would've thought Hawkins was blaming him. But at the same time, Fox got the feeling that what he had just said wasn't true.

"Alright, I got to tell Peppy. Keep me up to date. And I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing." Hawkins nodded and Fox walked back to his cabin. He sat on the edge of the bed, almost ignoring what Krystal said when he walked in.

"So Fox, what did he say?" She sat up as she spoke.

"Just wanted to know a few things, that's all." She forced him to look directly at her as she spoke.

"Don't lie to me Fox. I know that's not true." Fox looked away as he spoke, shoving her out of his mind.

"I promised I wouldn't tell you. Simple as that." She glared at him as she grabbed her crutches and got to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"Well, clearly, you don't trust me as much as I thought. So I might as well leave right now." Fox was completely confused.

"Wait, Krystal, what? This is nothing to do with whether I trust you or not!" she didn't even make any attempt to acknowledge that he spoke as she crutched out the door. "Damn it, can I do nothing right with her?!" he kicked his dresser as he shouted.

* * *

Krystal did her best to settle into one of the benches in the galley. She glanced around the room, spotting Mira alone in one of the corners. She had a tray in front of her that she wasn't eating out of. Hawkins and bill were sitting together, laughing about something. She fought the urge to yell at him and settled on bombarding his mind.

_Will, get your useless ass over here before I kick it over here!_ He flinched slightly as he continued speaking to bill.

_Give me a second Krystal. And what did I tell you about staying out of my head._ She glared at him as he finally got up and walked over to her. As soon as he wasn't facing bill, his smile disappeared. He sat down across from her as he spoke.

"What Krystal?" there was a certain impatience in his words.

"Why aren't you talking to Mira?" he rolled his eyes as he muttered something under his breath. He had somehow managed to shove her out of his head, keeping her from knowing what he had said.

"Because she does need some space. If we constantly hound her, she will never get better!" Krystal glared at him. From Krystal's point of view, she was being given plenty of space. About ten feet of it where ever she went actually.

"And she also won't if you don't talk to her! We arrived at Corneria a few minutes ago! Why don't you take her somewhere quiet?!" he glanced at Mira, sitting alone in the corner.

"Believe it or not, I do want to. I want to take her to her brother's grave, but I really don't think she will right now." His expression softened as he stared at her.

"Her brother?" he nodded as he continued.

"My old wingmen was her half-brother. Didn't realize it until that dog fight with razor's edge. Long story." She glanced at Mira for a second, trying to read her thoughts. All she could get was deep sadness and pain.

"So go ask her. Right now. At least ask if she will." His head dropped into his hands as he spoke.

"Fine. But if she punches me again, I'm doing the same to you." He was standing up as he spoke and was already half way across the room before she could say anything. She closed her eyes as she focused on Hawkins's presence. She wasn't even sure if she could, but she had heard stories of telepaths being capable of seeing through another's eyes. She almost startled as she was suddenly seeing herself sitting down in front of Mira, until she realized that it was Hawkins doing so.

_"Mira, may I speak to you?" she glanced up from her food, glaring at him._

_ "If it's about what happened in the vehicle bay, you better just keep walking." He looked down at his boots before looking at her._

_ "And if it's not?" Mira stayed silent, staring at her untouched food. Hawkins took it as permission to continue. "I want to keep the promise I made to you. Take you to your brother's grave. Tomorrow." She glanced up at Hawkins, the faintest trace of sadness in her eyes. It almost instantly disappeared._

_ "What? So you can get some hired goons to kidnap me or something? Or just finish me off yourself?" _she could feel Hawkins's heart dropping, as if it was her own.

_"Mira, I would never hurt you. We can go tonight if you want. I'll leave my blaster, and you can call Fox about it." Mira was quiet, as if lost in thought. Apprehension filled him as he continued to speak. "If you don't want to, it's fine, really. I just thought I'd offer." He started to stand as she suddenly spoke. There were tears in her eyes._

_ "Ok fine, call Fox! And I don't care if you bring the damn blaster when we go, if you're going to kill me, you'll do it with or without it." he stood over her for a second, tears stinging his own eyes as he spoke._

_ "We'll go now. Just let me call Fox. And you might want to dress a little warmer. It's chilly in Corneria City right now." Mira nodded and didn't move. Hawkins tapped a few commands into his wrist computer. Fox answered almost instantly._

_ "Need something Hawkins?" he absently nodded as he spoke._

_ "I want permission to use one of the shuttles. I want to take Mira planet side for something. We should be back late tonight." Fox instantly responded, with no hesitation at all._

_ "Alright. Take all the time you need down there. I'd prefer if you're back by morning, but if you guys end up staying longer, it'll be fine." _She felt Hawkins's gratitude as he spoke. _A small smile splayed across his face._

_ "Thank you Fox. We'll be leaving shortly."_

_ And Krystal, get the hell out of my head._ Her eyes jerked open as she felt his thought. She was shocked at how tired she suddenly was.

_How did you know? _He was glaring at her from across the room, walking just behind Mira.

_You're not that hard to feel._ The two of them left the room and she let her head droop into her hands. Krystal jumped as Katt's voice whispered in her ear.

"Wakie wakie sleepy head!" she jolted awake, now in the darkened cafeteria.

"How long was I asleep?" Katt smiled as she dropped into the seat in front of her.

"Hour or so. Doc wants you back to the infirmary. You and Fox got into another fight didn't you?" Krystal nodded as she reached for her crutches.

"Yes, How did you know?" she grimaced as she spoke.

"Fox told me to go get you and take you back to the infirmary. Didn't want to do it himself. Plus, he's entered the galley about four times and left because you were in here." She helped her off the bench as they walked back to the infirmary, Krystal's heart sinking.

"Well, I'm done with him, so I don't care." Katt, looked bewildered, but didn't respond as they walked along in silence.

* * *

Flame rose up over the nose of the shuttle. I glanced back into the troop bay at Mira. She was gripping her sides, almost as if she was cold. Something about her expression said that it had nothing to do with the temperature. I was about to speak when a female voice came over the radio.

"This is Corneria Tower to G-F Shuttle Two, please state your business and destination." I keyed up the radio system as I spoke.

"Corneria City, and no official business." Her voice toke a few seconds to come back.

"Alright, private landing pad or public?" I knew the Star Fox team owned a small headquarters and landing pad, but I didn't know where it was.

"Public." She took even longer to respond this time.

"Alright, set course to three-zero-two and altitude of three thousand meters. I will transfer you to local ground control momentarily." Mira suddenly stepped into the cockpit and stood just behind the copilot's chair.

"Finally deem my presence worthy?" I glanced over to her as I spoke.

"No. just like the view." The barest trace of a smile crossed her lips. Corneria City was straight ahead of us. Unlike most of the cities on the planet, Corneria City was entirely man made, out of an underwater mount and a lot of dirt. It was built after Andross tested bio weapons on the surface of the planet, deep into the largest ocean, to limit exposure to contaminants. It almost immediately became the capital city.

"Well, at least you're smiling." She shot a glare at me before sitting down. A new voice came over the radio, male this time.

"This is Corneria ground control. Please state your load for dis-embarkment." I smirked as I responded.

"Two people. And we need a hanger too." Silence stretched on as we drew closer and closer to the city.

"Alright, what is the names and place of birth of passengers, as well as a list of all dangerous items leaving the craft?" I raised my eyebrow as I spoke to Mira.

"Well, security is definitely tighter." I clicked the radio back on. "William Hawkins, Earth, Mira Marshall, Corneria. One M-Six Individual Combat Weapon System, Compact. Five Magazines of ammunition. All not staying for more than a day or two, tops." The response was almost instantaneous.

"Please redirect your craft for CDF HQ to submit yourselves to security. If you do not comply, you will be fired upon." I sighed and cursed as I changed course, skirting around the city to a smaller island less than a kilometer away.

"Damn. At least they are taking Human threats seriously." I glared at her before I brought the craft in to one of the landing pads. An entire squad of infantry were waiting for us. They shouted as the ramp lowered.

"Hands up! Toss the weapon on the pad and stay aboard your ship, one sudden movement and we grease you!" I put my hands up, but made no motion of tossing my weapon.

"With all due respect, no. My weapon stays with me. We are members of the Star Fox team." One of the soldiers laughed as he spoke.

"Bull shit, no way could a mutt and a human ever make the cut for Star Fox! Nice try jack ass, blaster on the ground now!" I cursed as I sent it sliding down the ramp. Another voice rang out from across the courtyard as one of the soldiers grabbed my weapon.

"Sergeant what the hell are you doing?!" there was something familiar about both the voice and the figure that came striding across the concrete.

"This human says he's Star Fox. No damn way, so we are detaining him and his little friend, sir." I suddenly recognized the man as he drew close enough to see the eye patch with his boxer like appearance.

"William Hawkins _is_ a member of Star Fox you idiot! I wrote out a recommendation to McCloud myself! Now give him his weapon back and leave him be!" I smiled as I trotted down the ramp and shook the man's hand.

"Jeremy! Damn man, when did you go military?!" the private that had my weapon handed it back to me and I holstered it.

"Pepper asked me to when the war broke out. It's Captain Winters now. Who's your lady friend?" I glanced back at Mira where she had sat down on the shuttle's ramp.

"Mira Marshall. My new wingman. Feels like a lifetime since I flew with you and the Corsairs." He nodded, a single eyebrow raised.

"Marshall eh? Well I'm sorry about the hassle. What are you two doing down here?" my eyes rested on Mira for a few seconds as I spoke.

"Visiting her brother's grave. Dan Marshall's grave." He raised both of his eyebrows at that.

"As in, your old wingman? I wasn't aware he had a sister." I laughed slightly as I spoke.

"Well, he did say he found his dad, and her dad is the name, rank and medal he found three years ago. Half-sister really but, if you look at her eyes, you can see him. They both got their eyes and their flying skills from their father." He grinned as he gestured for us to follow.

"Miss Marshall! I'll give you a lift to the city. Not let you be hassled any further." I grinned as I walked with him to one of the military shuttles.

"Thanks Winters. Give me a number and I'll call you when we need to head back." he pulled a card out and handed it to me before climbing into the shuttle. Mira and I sat down in silence as he lifted the shuttle off the ground. Mira stared at her shoes. "Mira?" she ignored me as we flew on. The shuttle final jolted slightly as it landed and the bay door dropped.

"Alright, here you go. And I'll be ready whenever you two call." I nodded as we marched out onto the busy street. Every Cornerian that passed gave me a wide berth as they hurried by, trying to stay as far away from me as possible.

"Well, you're not exactly well liked." I glanced at her as she walked along, kicking at every small stone she passed and unwilling to do more than glance up.

"Well, what did you expect? Champagne and presents?" she shrugged as we turned into the grave yard. None of the graves were more than five years old, and the majority were from three years ago. I lead her to the back of the graveyard, quickly finding Dan's small head stone. "Here we are. He never was one for fancy things." she was no longer glaring at everything as she knelt down and touched the gravestone.

"Are you sure he…" I cut her off before she continued.

"Yes. He did find his father. Amongst the posthumously decorated heroes of the Aparoid threat. Same medal as the one in your drawer. I'd eat my own arm if I was wrong." She stayed silent for a minute as she sat there. She suddenly turned away and started walking away. "Mira?" she stopped and spun her glare coming back.

"Why didn't you let me kill myself? I have nothing left in this world! My entire family is dead, I can't fly, and I can't even protect my team mates!" the sun was setting behind the skyscrapers as she yelled at me. I was very quiet as I spoke.

"Because you are a good pilot, and a very good friend." She turned away from me as I spoke.

"No I'm not. I got shot down when Krystal needed me most. I slowed her down on the ground. She could've gotten away if I hadn't been there. She would have never been stabbed, or beaten." I didn't understand how, but I knew she was crying.

"He broke you, didn't he?" she nodded as I walked over to her. I placed a hand on her shoulder as her entire body seemed to shake.

"Just before he stabbed Krystal. I was going to tell him everything he wanted to know, just to protect her. He had beaten me, stabbed me, hit me with an overcharged stun rod, electrocuted me, and… and I wanted to keep him from doing that to her. He stabbed her anyway." I gently turned her to face me and pulled her into a hug.

"Shh, you did what you could. And she's going to be fine." She started sobbing in my arms, pressing her hands to her eyes.

"For what good it did! She survived because of you and Fox. And Noriega, he… he… I…Will he raped me."

* * *

Mira felt Will's muscles tense up as she spoke.

"I… I should've been there. He never should've gotten the chance. I should've followed your trail, regardless of what Fox said. I'm so sorry Mira. Damn it I screwed up again! I wasn't there when you needed me!" he stopped hugging her and walked off, his hands on the back of his head. He shouted out a stream of profanity as she gingerly approached him.

"Will, it isn't your fault you got paired with me. I'm sorry. I'm just useless. Noriega made that clear to me. I just don't have anything I want to live for anymore." He wouldn't look at her as he spoke.

"Mira. When Da… your brother, died, there is something not well known about it. By all evidence, when his G-Diffuser blew, he should have landed in the crowd. Not the field underneath us. There was about a quarter of a second window that he could've reacted in, and he did. Saved hundreds of people. If you're going to die, make sure you're dying for something, like him. He wouldn't have wanted you to give up." She stared at the grave stone, memories of all her failures, the teasing for being what she was. The taunts, even the soldier's words just a few minutes prior.

"Will, I'll never be like him. I'm not as good as him! And I can't make a decision like that!" Will was silent as they stood there. He was very quiet when he finally spoke.

"You're more like him than you know. You intentionally crashed your fighter into an enemy formation. And you may not be the best pilot, but you made it onto the Star Fox team. The corsairs may be good, but you're amongst gods as far as the people are concerned." She didn't respond as he spoke. She stayed silent as he continued. "Look at that grave there, and tell me you want to kill yourself? Go ahead, say it."

"I want… I want to… I can't say it." she collapsed onto her knees, sobbing. She felt his arm over her shoulder as he spoke.

"Because you know it isn't right. The right thing is rarely ever the easiest path. And killing yourself, is most definitely the easy way out." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He had one of the softest expressions she had ever seen in her life.

"I… I… Will, why do you care so much? Why do you try so hard to protect me?" he looked away, almost as if he was staring into the past.

"Dan gave me my wings. I had never wanted to fly until I met him. I lost that with him. Then I met you." He smiled slightly as he spoke. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on his shoulder. "You take away my girl, you take away my wings. You take away my wings…" she finished his statement for him.

"You take away my will to fly." He pulled her closer as she finally let all of her pain out and cried. "Will, thank you, for everything. It feels strange to trust someone so much after so little time." She opened her eyes to see him nod.

"I'm always here for you. And don't thank me yet, we haven't even reached hell yet." She smirked as he playfully punched her arm and helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling you'll be with me every step of the way, won't you?" He just smiled as he walked with her out onto the street.

* * *

Fox jumped as the door to his cabin opened. Krystal was standing in the doorway.

"Finally speaking to me now?" she glared at him as she crutched in, speaking almost instantly.

"Where is Mira and Will? They should be back by now?" Fox sighed at the impatience in her voice.

"Krystal, they are fine. Spent the night in the old HQ, and have requested the flight team to join them. Falco, Katt, and Slippy are on their way down now." The expression on her face gave Fox the impression that he was about to get hit.

"And you didn't tell me!?" Fox leaned away from her in the chair.

"I only just got the message about twenty minutes ago! Falco and them over heard it! I'm working on letting everyone know right now!" she continued to glare at him.

"And you couldn't have, you know, called me or something!" she stormed right back out of the room. He sighed as he finished the two ship wide messages, including Hawkins's invite to one of the local bars.

"Damn it, when did I screw this up so badly between us?" he stood and stretched before packing a small pack. He trotted over to Hawkins's new cabin and Mira's and collecting small bags of their stuff as well. He moved off to the air lock, knowing that Rob had already docked with the orbital gate, and there should be a shuttle down to the city in only a handful of minutes. He jogged through the docking tube and into the gate. He could just barely see Falco's head sticking up above the crowd. He shoved his way over to them and was instantly greeted by Katt.

"Oh, hey Fox, I didn't know you were coming?" he smirked as he spoke.

"Did you miss Hawkins asking for a change of clothes? Not that he has a whole lot of options. Did you know he only has a couple of white t-shirts and cargo pants civilian wise?" she chuckled as they shuffled into the shuttle. There was a new security station in the terminal. Falco was stopped as he tried to march past them.

"Your bag sir." He smirked as he spoke.

"Seriously, I'm a member of the Star Fox team. Do you really need to check my bag?" the guard stared at him.

"I wouldn't give a fuck if you were general Pepper himself. Now give me your bag, or I'll put you the stockade." Fox stepped forward and slung all three bags he had on the table.

"Falco, just give him the bag. I'd rather not have to pull your bail money out of my personal account. Again." He cursed and tossed his bag next to fox's. They went through a scanner one by one and collected their bags. The shuttle ride itself was uneventful. He sighed as he let the others lead the way. They were all laughing and joking as they marched, not one noticing him dropping farther and farther back. He reached the old headquarters building and sank to the wall outside. He assumed the others had already gone in. the night was surprisingly cool as a light breeze rustled his fur. He leaned back and closed his eyes. A voice suddenly startled him as Hawkins sat down next to him.

"Hey Fox. Figured you could use one." He was holding a beer out to him. He accepted it and toke a drink from it.

"Thanks. Brought you two some clothes." He gestured to the bags as he settled back in.

"I see that. Mira is, well she's on the right road. Doesn't mean it will be easy. Or that she's good." Fox nodded as they sat in silence. "Fox, the others have left for the bar. Want to join us?" he shook his head.

"Nah. I'm fine right here." Hawkins nodded as he stood, dropping the empty bottle onto his lap.

"Alright. There's more in the fridge, Winters stocked us up. Take care Fox." He dropped his hands into his pockets as he walked away. Fox stared up at the starless sky as he leaned up against the building.

"Krystal, what did I do to you?"

* * *

Falco splayed himself into the corner of the bench, spreading out as much as he possibly could. Katt smacked his gut and he instantly curled up.

"Make room Falco!" he growled as the group settled in around him.

"Excuse me guys, I was sitting there!" Katt grinned as she spoke.

"Yeah, _was _sitting there. Come on Falco, got a problem with _getting friendly_?" she scooted closer to him and grabbed one of his arms. He instantly tried to pull away.

"Well, paws off at least, sheesh!" she released his arm and put on a small pout.

"Wait, where's Will?" Slippy was the one who spoke.

"And Fox? He ever show up at the H-Q" Falco was now glancing around the bar looking for both of them. Winters suddenly spoke up as he was searching.

"Well, I saw Will go talk to Fox back at the HQ, you guys were too focused on going to the bar. He was just sittin outside the HQ." Slippy nodded as Katt glanced around.

"Wait, what happened to Mira then, I could swear she came with us?" Falco almost instantly spoke up, pointing at one of the far corners of the bar.

"She's over there. Went over after grabbing herself a drink." Katt peered into the dark corner. Falco himself could just barely make out her outline.

"So, Captain Winters, eh? You were the lead plane for the Corsairs, right?" Sippy's voice was filled with admiration.

"Yeah, I was. Damn, I do miss those days. And William and Dan. Damn they were a good pair." Slippy was the only one who seemed to understand.

"His old wingman, right?" Winters nodded as he downed a shot of the much stronger alcohol he had purchased a bottle of. They all glanced up as the door opened. Hawkins stepped through and went straight to the bar.

"Hey, Mr. Paranoid, over here!" Falco's voice echoed across the bar. He waved to them as he got a beer and trotted over to Mira. They seemed to be in a deep conversation.

"Is he the only person she has talked to all night? I wonder what they are talking about." Falco glanced at Katt, noticing the almost dreamy look in her eyes.

"Hopefully re-teaching her how to be social!" Katt glared at him as he spoke. Hawkins suddenly stepped away and trotted up to them.

"Alright, how many did I miss?" Falco laughed as he spoke.

"Not even one round! Why's Mira sittin by herself?" he grimaced as he glanced over at her.

"Don't worry about it Falco. Fortuna was hard on her, she just needs some time, that's all." He grunted as Hawkins pulled up a chair.

"Well, Krystal seemed fine!" Katt, Slippy, and Hawkins all glared at him as one. "What!?"

"Are you that thick headed Falco? Fox is sitting by himself, I overheard Doc sayin she could come down, as long as she didn't over stress herself and yet, she didn't. And Fox sent _me _to go get her back to the infirmary a last night." Falco looked at the three of them, confusion rising. Winters seemed to be the only other one confused, which was reasonable since he didn't serve on the ship with them.

"But those two are always fighting!" they seemed to roll their eyes as one.

"Falco, has Krystal ever moved out of the room they share? Cause I overheard her talking to Lucy about bunking with her." Falco stared at Slippy and shrugged.

"Well, we can't help it! So I say, let's drink!" and for once, the group listened to him and they all raised their glasses.

"To the Star Fox team!" Hawkins's toast was repeated by everyone until it reached Falco.

"The biggest bunch of bad asses the UEC has ever had to deal with!" the entire table rang with agreement as they chugged down their beers. "Another round?" the entire group nodded as one. Hawkins and Winters agreed to go get it. "Well Slippy, what do you think of our personal human?" Slippy rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"I think he's pretty smart. Half the upgrades I did to your Arwing are from him." Falco grunted as Slippy continued. "What about you Falco?" he shrugged as he spoke.

"He aint a bad pilot. Can't say I know him beyond that though, Katt?" She shriveled as her tail flicked.

"I think he is really sweet. I mean, he offered to help me fix the Catspaw. And he takes care of Mira. Although, he needs to just ask her out and be done with it." Hawkins's voice penetrated the group as Katt froze.

"I heard that Katt. And no." he distributed the fresh drinks as he spoke.

"Well, Winters, what about you?" he shrugged as he spoke.

"I'm guessing you're talking about Hawkins. He is one of the best pilots I've ever seen. And one of the most honorable. In short, my door's always open for ya." He clapped Hawkins's shoulder as he spoke.

"Well, Hawkins, what do you think of us?" he glanced around the group as Katt spoke.

"Falco, you're an ass, you're cocky, but you are a damn good pilot. Katt, you are one of the most stubborn people I have ever met. But at least you got a good heart in your chest. Slippy, I like ya, and let's leave it at that." Everyone but Falco laughed.

"What about the others? Krystal, Mira, Fox?" he shrugged as he spoke.

"Mira, she's a good wingmen." Falco got the impression that he thought a lot more than that about her. "Fox, he is a good leader, listens to his team, but he's let love distract him. Krystal, she relies on her telepathy too much, and her heart too little. Bill, Bill is cool. 'Nough said. Lucy, I don't know a damn thing about her, but she is a fairly good pilot." Mira's voice suddenly startled them as she spoke.

"And I think you are the best wing mate, teammate, and friend a person can have. Yeah, you're a bit reckless, but hey, nobody's perfect!" she roughed up his hair as she sat down beside him. The entire group seemed to greet her as one.

"Thanks Mira. Glad to see ya join us." She smiled at the group as she spoke.

"Well, I can't let you all have all the fun now can I?" Now Fox's voice startled the group as he spoke.

"And nobody saved me a beer. I feel totally loved!" the group laughed as he grabbed a beer from the bartender and joined them.


	11. Chapter 11: Loose Threads

Mira's eyes slowly opened as she became aware of someone's arms wrapped around her stomach. She glanced down to see Will's human hands and she snuggled in more.

"Good morning Mira." She smiled as Will spoke and craned her head around.

"Good morning Will!" he sat up and she rested her head on his lap. She glanced around the room smiling at some of the others. Slippy was in a chair, sleeping on his head. Falco was on the other couch, his arms wrapped around Katt, Katt's tail wrapped around his leg. "Can I wake up like this every morning?" she looked up at Will, smiling slightly. He didn't look at her as he carefully stood up.

"No. you were crying last night. You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you." He was digging through the fridge as she sat up.

"Why not Will?" he was quiet for a few minutes as he dug out breakfast ingredients.

"Just can't Mira. I'm sorry. I sure as hell hope this bacon looking stuff is at least related to a pig." She felt her heart sink as she moved up beside him.

"It is bacon. A lot of food animals were killed during Andross's bio bombings. Earth wildlife can live comfortably here so they sent what they could years ago. Bacon, kinda caught on." He grinned as he pulled out skillets and started cooking.

"Well, everything is better with bacon." She rolled her eyes as he spoke.

"I'm going to step out onto the balcony. Let me know when breakfast is done." He nodded as she slipped through the door and leaned up against the railing. The balcony they had looked out over the shipyard. She counted at least three destroyers and one cruiser being built. Cruisers looked similar to the Cornerian destroyer, but longer, and the ventral stab was more shallow, riding toward the back of the ship rather than downwards. Most destroyers were only about five hundred meters long, and were the bulk of the Cornerian fleet. Cruisers were the troop carriers and flagships of the fleet. The sun started to rise higher in the sky as she watched the night crews switch off with the morning crew.

"Hey Mira." She jumped as Fox spoke. He walked over to the railing and leaned up against it, right beside her.

"Hey Fox. Sleep well?" he shook his head as he stared out at the shipyard.

"Not really. Ya know, this view right here is why we picked this for our HQ building. They built both the original, and the new Great Fox right there, on the pad the cruiser is on. Got to watch as they took her up to fit her armor and weapons on, last month of the project." A small smile crossed his face as he stared across the water.

"So you like it here?" he nodded as he glanced around.

"Mira, may I ask you something?" she nodded and he continued. "Well, I need your help with Krystal. I don't know exactly what I did wrong, but well, our relationship is collapsing." She nodded as she let herself think.

"Well, she's been questioning your relationship since at least when I came on board. Don't get me wrong, she loves you, she just doesn't know if it's right." He nodded and stayed silent. "Fox, just remember, she will come back to you. As long as you love her, she will love you. Even if it doesn't show." He nodded again, staring out at the water.

"So, you're saying this will just blow over?" Mira laughed as he spoke.

"Not exactly, but give her some space, and some time to realize how stupid she is being, and accept her back, no grudges." He smirked and nodded. "Fox? May I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" she shifted nervously on her feet.

"Well, me and Will, I, I don't know if I'm just being irrational or stupid, but, I want to be with him. Now more than ever. And yet, he just shoves me away. I want to believe that he has feelings toward me, but I don't know." She stared down at the waves, almost fifteen stories down from her.

"Mira, you haven't really known each other very long. All I can tell you, is that you two need to stick together. As friends at least. Doesn't mean you can't be more but, doesn't mean you will be. Only time will tell. Come on, before Falco tries to take all of the bacon." She grimaced as they stepped inside. Will was portioning out food onto plates and passing them out. The main door slid open as Bill stepped in, followed by Lucy, Doc, Peppy, and Krystal on her crutches. Mira watched Fox as he seemed to freeze for a second.

"Alright, I am not cooking more food, I have a few errands to run, if yall don't mind." Will, stepped away from the plates and disappeared into one of the rooms. He came out in fresh clothes and disappeared out the door. Winters marched in from one of the bedrooms, holding his head.

"Alright, why do I remember someone getting thrown into a pool?" Falco was instantly laughing. He and Katt had taken to opposite ends of the room. Or, more correctly, Falco was staying as far away from her as possible.

"Because you jumped into the pond down there. That's why you're wearing Hawkins's clothes." Mira couldn't help but snigger as he glanced at his clothes and grabbed a plate of food.

"Oh…" he dropped into the chair Slippy had been sleeping in.

"So who's the new guy?" Bill was plopping onto one of the sofas as he spoke.

"Bill, this is captain Winters, Former leader of the Corsairs." Slippy was the one speaking.

"Oh cool. Thanks for the bacon." Before Slippy had even noticed, he had grabbed a piece and wolfed it down. Slippy smacked his arm as Fox and Krystal sat on opposite sides of the room, Fox staring at his plate and Krystal glaring at him.

* * *

I nervously looked around as I typed commands into the Subspace communication system. It started ringing for a few seconds before he answered. It was a human male in a bright white navel uniform, with steel grey eyes and greying jet black hair.

"Son? Why are you calling me, from Corneria no less?" I looked down as I spoke.

"I need some information, Rear Admiral. Not related to the war." I heard him sigh before he spoke.

"William, I know I could lose my job for this, but whatever you need kid." I nodded as I fought the urge to cry.

"I need anything you have on a man named MacDonnell. His name has come up a few times, and it seems familiar. I understand if he is military and you can't send anything but, well yeah." I glanced up as he spoke. He was smiling.

"Of course, and trust me, he is not military. He's the second in command of the Mohammad's Army militant movement. He was the one who executed your men. I'm sending all the files I have on him to you now." I nodded as silence fell between us. "I can't believe it's been over three years. Will, I regret what I said to you that day. I know I should think of you as my enemy right now, but I'm proud of you. The Star Fox team is one of the most elite groups of pilots out there. And although I can't say it, I'm proud you're a part of them. If we survive this war, I want to try to reconnect with you. If you would allow it." I nodded as I pulled the filled drive out of the terminal.

"Thank you, Dad. And we will, I promise. Good luck." He smiled as he spoke.

"It won't be me who needs it, stay alive kid, and I'm sure you're fighting with them for the right reasons." I terminated the call and turned around to find four Cornerian MP's standing behind me.

"You're coming with us, human!" I put my hands on the back of my head as I spoke.

"I know this looks bad, but I need to get this data either too General Pepper or Fox McCloud. It's important." The MP yanked my pistol out of its holster and cuffed me as the others trained weapons on me.

"Shut up and move, scumbag!" I let them stuff me into a squad car, still clutching the thumb drive.

"Car 28 to HQ, suspect apprehended. Human male, using a Sub-Space comm line to earth. Armed with one, human blaster. Dropped some big names at us." The dispatcher acknowledged as the driver pulled away and started driving. The radio buzzed a few times as he drove, ignoring most of the traffic until he reached his precinct building. They dragged me out of the car and I glanced down, noticing my knife still on my thigh.

"I have to ask, but where were you trained trooper?" he glanced at me confused. "Because you left a rather deadly weapon on my left thigh. Total length of twelve inches, very sharp for seven inches. You might want to check for it if there is a next time." He glanced at my thigh, wide eyed. He yanked the knife out as he spoke.

"Well, um thanks?" he looked bewildered as he marched me into one of the interrogation rooms. He stepped out after connecting my hand cuffs to the table.

"Well, this is just peachy." A detective walked in with his partner after I spoke, sitting across the table from me.

"So, contacting home?" I shrugged as I spoke.

"Sorta. Not home, but it was family. My home is a bit too mobile." He looked at me for a second as he stared at a PDA in front of him.

"Says here you're with the Star Fox team. That means you have access to some pretty high up information. What did you pass to earth?" I smiled at him as I spoke.

"Nothing, I was actually requesting information. Got the whole call right here on this drive. Plus the data I got. It won't help you or the war effort, call it, a personal curiosity." He stared at me for a second, as if he was trying to tell if I was lying. I slid the drive onto the table and he scooped it up before he marched out.

* * *

Fox jumped as his wrist started vibrating. He answered and Peppy's voice spilled out, his voice frantic.

"Fox! Hawkins just got picked up by the Military Police! They are saying he was trying to give military secrets to the UEC!" Fox was stunned for a second before he spoke.

"What? Where? I'm on my way!" he rushed to find a jacket, until he realized he left it in the main room.

"Precinct four HQ is where they took him! I'm trying to get Pepper on the horn now!" Fox rushed out as he hung up, frantically searching the room for his jacket.

"Fox? What's going on?" Mira had just stepped out of the bathroom as he spotted his jacket and threw it on.

"Hawkins just got arrested. Apparently called someone in the UEC!" he was just about to step out of the room as Mira yelled.

"Wait for me!" she rushed out and they were both tapping their feet as the elevator rode downward. They sprinted out of the lobby and slid to a stop hailing a cab down. Fox grabbed the door for Mira and slid into the seat beside her.

"Fourth Precinct police station! Quickly if you don't mind!" the driver nodded and Fox watched Mira clench and unclench her fists over and over. They were coming to a stop when he realized he was drumming on the side of the cab. They rushed into the building and a guard stopped him.

"Your weapon sir." He glanced down, not even realizing he had left his weapon on.

"Here, sorry." He rushed past to the front desk almost instantly speaking. "I'm here to see a recent detainee, human Male. He's a member of my team." The clerk flicked through her data base as he impatiently tapped his foot.

"Wait, are you a member of Star Fox?" he nodded, annoyance rising through his body.

"Yes, I am Fox McCloud, lead pilot. Now can I go see what my teammate got himself into?" she shook her head as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, he is still in processing. You will have to wait for him to be out of it." he cursed as he walked away and dropped into one of the chairs. Within seconds, a detective stepped out from behind the counter and marched over to him.

"Fox McCloud? Come with me. I need you to speak on your team members behalf." He nodded and they both stood. The detective placed a hand on Mira's chest. "Sorry, just Fox Ma-am." She scowled as Fox was lead out of the room. As soon as they were clear of the lobby, the detective was speaking. "William Hawkins is claiming he was receiving nonmilitary based Intel from his father. Said it wasn't an information trade. My partner is convinced it's some kind of code." Fox nodded as they turned a corner, stopping at a door leading to an interrogation room.

"And what do you think?" he shifted slightly as he glanced around.

"I think he was just talking to his father about something. They are family. Maybe asking a favor. I looked through the data he has and watched the call. Data is on a man named MacDonnell." Fox nodded, almost instantly speaking.

"We ran into that name a few months ago. Was in a pair of pirate bases we went after. Is that all?" he nodded and gestured at the door.

"He's in there if you want to talk to him." Fox nodded and stepped through the doorway. Hawkins was sitting in a chair, his hands handcuffed to the table. Somehow, he seemed perfectly relaxed.

"Hey McCloud. How's it going?" Fox let his jaw drop as he spoke.

"Seriously? You just got arrested and you're asking me how it's going?" he shrugged as he sat silently. "Alright, tell me exactly what you did and why?" he chuckled slightly as he spoke.

"Have a hunch. I know I've said this war makes no damned sense. Only pull able thread was this, so I'm pulling. I called my father. Asked for whatever Intel he could give me. Turns out, MacDonnell was last seen executing my men on Ganymede. And some of it was personal between us." Fox nodded as Hawkins spoke.

"Well, Peppy was getting Pepper on the comm line. I just hope he has enough pull to get you out." Hawkins smirked as he leaned back.

"Well, he won't need much, if they actually watched the recording. I recorded the conversation. And the data is clearly received data and in no way relevant to the current war, so I'm sure I'll be clear soon." Fox sighed as he spoke.

"Maybe not. One of the detectives is certain it's a code of some kind. Like your being given orders." He shrugged as he fiddled with the cuffs.

"Meh, doesn't matter. So long as you or pepper look over the data and start pulling, then I'm happy. Just have a hunch." He stared at the polarized glass for a second as he waited. The detective that had escorted Fox stepped in.

"Well, we got a call from Fortuna orbit. General pepper vouched for you, though he said, if it happens again, you're on your own." The detective was smiling as he pulled the cuffs off. "Hawkins, your weapons will be returned at the door. And here's that drive of yours." Hawkins accepted the small drive and pocketed it. They marched out the way Fox had come and Mira leapt to her feet at the sight of Hawkins.

"Will!" She rushed over and hugged him. Fox smirked at Hawkins's semi bewildered expression. The guard returned all of their weapons as they marched out onto the street.

"Well, that was a fun little adventure. Did you know, the Cornerians missed my combat knife when looking for weapons?" Fox and Mira both laughed as she responded.

"And you call being arrested an adventure! I do not want to know what a bad situation is in your book!" he smirked as she continued. "Did you really call earth?" He nodded as he spoke.

"Technically an orbital weapons platform above earth. Talked to dad, got what I wanted. I need to talk to pepper though, I need all the Intel I can get on pirate activity over the past year." Fox nodded as he hailed a cab.

"You realize you're on leave right?" he nodded as a cab stopped on the curb.

* * *

Katt slipped out of her room and into the main room of the HQ. Will was in one of the corners, flicking through several PDA's at once. Most of the crew seemed to not be around, but Falco and Bill were hovering over the counter, Mira across from them in a very tight t-shirt and short shorts. She had what looked like a steel tube in her hands, shaking it back and forth.

"You weren't kidding about being a bartender before you joined up. This is one of the best damn cocktails I've ever had!" Falco was sipping on an orange and red drink, clearly thoroughly enjoying it as Katt trotted over.

"Hey Mira, whacha making?" Mira barely glanced up from what she was doing as she responded.

"A pair of human Margaritas, on the rocks. I like em and Bill wants to try it." Katt leaned up against the counter, seeing the array of different alcohol bottles in front of Mira. Katt and Mira had chatted a few times about Mira's time as a bartender after she left school, several of them about her fellow bartenders waking up next to random strangers after their shifts and explaining to them what had happened. She rarely ever drank, the night a couple days back being a rare exception.

"I'd love to try one too." She smiled, pouring the green liquid out into a pair of glasses, blocks of ice already in them. She slid one to Bill and the other to Katt.

"I can always make more." Katt toke a sip, getting a powerful punch of both alcohol and citrus in what she would call perfect proportions. "Will! Do you want anything?" Mira hollered across the room at Will, rinsing out the shaker as he did so.

"Working Mira, can't. Maybe another time?" she sighed speaking in a much lower tone as she mixed up a fresh drink for herself.

"He hasn't left those damned devices alone since he got arrested." Katt could see the sadness in Mira's as eyes as they remained fixed on Will. She gave Bill and Falco a very pointed look, Falco seeming to catch the memo and drag Bill away before Katt spoke.

"Mira, I know this is a little late, and I've been meaning to tell you, but, you know Will said he wouldn't date you, right?" a flash of pain crossed her eyes as her attention focused on Katt.

"What are you talking about?" Katt sighed, setting her drink down and leaning her rear up against the counter.

"After you two got back from Sauria, I asked him about your feelings toward him. He was fully aware of them, he just said he didn't want to date you. Well, to be more accurate, he said he didn't want to date anyone." A single tear slipped out of Mira's eye, just before she closed them and nodded.

"I understand." Katt gave the smaller woman a half hug, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"Just don't go too far over for him. It's okay to care about him, just don't plan on it being any more than friends, okay?" she nodded, setting her empty drink in the sink before walking off without saying goodbye. "Wait, Mira!" she didn't look back, leaving the HQ building entirely. She sighed and stepped out onto the balcony, speaking to herself. "Yeah, like you're one to talk Katt." A few images of herself waking up next to Falco shot through her mind, a few of her own tears slipping out of her eyes.

* * *

Fox looked out over the ocean from one of the benches he used to spend a lot of time on, sighing before he let his head fall into his hands. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what to say to Krystal, and the thought of losing her seemed to draw closer and closer in his mind. Someone dropped into the seat beside him, making him nearly jump. He realized that it was only Peppy, putting on a faint smile for the old hare.

"Hey Peppy. Enjoying leave?" he shrugged, gazing out over the water with a small half smile on his face.

"As much as I can, with the way things are. I hate to see you hurting Fox." Fox glanced at him again, seeing a small spark of sadness in his eyes.

"Well, it's fine. I brought it on myself." Fox looked away from him, not wanting to make eye contact with Peppy.

"That doesn't make it fine Fox. If anything, it makes it hurt worse. I don't know if you still see it, but Krystal loves you, probably more than even she realizes. It's hard, but don't give up on her Fox. You can't make her stay, but you can at least give her a place to come back to. And when the time comes, trust your instincts. Your mind and emotions will betray you Fox." Fox sighed before he nodded, his mind bouncing back to his conversation with Mira on the balcony.

"Mira said almost the same thing to me." Peppy chuckled, crossing one of his legs as he leaned back, resting his paws on the sizable girth he had acquired as he aged.

"She is a smart girl, even if that intelligence eludes her at times." Silence fell between the old friends for several minutes, both comforted by the other's presence. Suddenly, Peppy broke the silence, a sad smile on his face. "Did you know that James and Vixy met in a park just like this one? He was just a cocky fighter jock then, on a weekend pass when he saw her, just sitting on a bench and reading a book. Not one of those electronic books, a real bound paper book." Fox gave him a puzzled expression, knowing that peppy rarely spoke of James and Vixy.

"Really?" Peppy's smile broadened, his voice seeming to spell out the scene as if he was watching it at that very second.

"Yes. We had been throwing a ball between us, simply enjoying the day when James 'accidently' threw the ball too far, landing it right at her feet. He trotted over to her, stooping over to pick up the ball when Vixy suddenly put her foot on it. She had this furious glare on her face that threw James so far off it was just priceless. When he tried to speak to her, all that came out was this mumble about throwing the ball too far. But she was too clever for him, and somehow knew he had thrown the ball to her on purpose. She just picked the ball up, gave him one look and plainly said that if he could find her and get the ball back from her, she would go out on that date he wanted to ask her out on. James was so dumbstruck that he didn't even try to grab the ball as she walked off." Peppy fell silent for a second, clearly still lost in his memory, prompting Fox to speak.

"I'm assuming he did find her?" Peppy chuckled and nodded, already speaking again.

"Yes he did, but it took him two weeks. He and Fara's mother were school friends, and he found out where she lived through her. When Vixy answered her door, she had the ball in her hands, simply handing it to him and closing the door without a word." Fox smirked, unable to help himself from speaking up.

"But, did she let him take her on that date?" Peppy nodded stretching as he spoke.

"Yeah, he started walking back to the street with this utterly defeated expression on his face when she opened the door, walking out with her purse in hand and demanding where he was going without her. From that point on, they were simply inseparable." Fox couldn't help but grin, the grin fading before too long as a thought crossed his mind.

"Why didn't dad ever tell me this?" Peppy shrugged finally standing up of the bench and straightening his shirt.

"I guess because it hurt too much for him to think about her. He almost never spoke about her after she died, even rarer still did he ever say her name." Fox nodded and stood up himself, stretching and yawning in the process. The sun was setting in the distance, Fox not even realizing that they had been sitting there for so long.

"Well, good night Peppy. Thanks for the talk." Peppy waved goodbye, heading back to the street to drive back to his home, Fox heading toward the HQ building, only a couple of blocks down the street.

* * *

Wolf stared at the sand blasted planet below, just a few thousand kilometers away from his flagship. He grunted as the thought crossed his mind. _Flagship, humph only ship more like._ The comm line beeped and he answered the call. Admiral Douglas was on the other end.

"Mr. O'Donnell, we just received intel that the Great Fox is at Corneria. Any chance you can get over there?" Wolf crossed his arms as he spoke.

"Cant. Sorry. Were bogged down out here, my crew is missing down there. I can't leave them." The admiral nodded as he typed in a few commands.

"Based on the damage done by Russian Intelligence, they will be there a while. Two of their members were seriously injured." Wolf almost jumped as he said that.

"Who?" apprehension filled his gut. _Damn, I've changed more than I thought. _The Admiral grimaced as he spoke.

"Report wasn't very specific. Just said two females." Wolf nodded as he moved over to one of the consoles.

"Well, that leaves four options there. Anything else?" the admiral nodded as Wolf looked through one of their orbital scans.

"Yes, I'd like to send a battle group to Titania to help you." Wolf shook his head as he spoke.

"No. there is a platoon of Cornerian Pathfinders lost down there. Panther found some of them before he dropped off the grid. UEC assets would cause a new conflict to erupt. We need to keep them down, protect the fleet ships, not get them killed." The Admiral seemed to sigh as the image flickered.

"Well, I just got a message from the rear admiral. Said one of the Star Fox team is digging into MacDonnell. So at least they are starting to be on the right track. I'll update you when they leave Corneria." Wolf shut the screen down as he faced the admiral.

"Good luck Douglas. I hope we get the evidence we need. I'll send you a report when I'm done here." He killed the transmission as he stared out the viewport. "Panther, you fool, where the hell are you!" Leon's high-pitched voice filled the bridge.

"Down there being a fool. What else does that damn cat do? Why do we have him again?" Wolf grunted as he brought up the latest thermal scan.

"Because he can be a good pilot at times. How's Dash doing on Corneria?" Leon crossed his arms, scanning the image with his eyes.

"Don't know. I gave you his last report two weeks ago. Not uncommon for him to go quiet." Wolf shut the projector off as he strode for the exit.

"Riley, you have the ship. Kill anything that gives us a funny look." The ape saluted as he passed. "Leon, let's go find that cat, so we can skin his ass!" Leon grinned as they marched off the bridge.


	12. Chapter 12: The End?

Mira glanced at Hawkins as he absently chewed on a biscuit. His eyes were glued to a group of PDA's that he hadn't left alone almost the entirety of the past week.

"Hey Will, why are you still reading this crap? This has to be the fourth time now!" he shrugged as he set one down and picked up his personal PDA.

"I have my reasons. You remember Noriega, right?" she looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Really Will, I don't think I'm ever forgetting him." He nodded as he continued.

"Well, shows here that Noriega and MacDonnell were very close during the Mars conflict. Both Russian military, Mars natives, and Noriega got MacDonnell into the Spetznaz with him. Worked together until 2215, about the time Mohammad's army came about unofficially. Rumor says, they stayed in touch for years. No proof but, given their MO's, I wouldn't be surprised if they are still in touch. And there have been mentioning's to a MacDonnell and a Malcolm for almost two years on multiple pirate bands. Every group these messages have been linked to are very well armed and organized, like Fachina and Meteo. And I think Titania is a new link in the chain." Mira just watched as he droned on. They both glanced up as Krystal marched into the HQ. She had just been taken off the crutches the day before.

"So you're saying?" now Will gave her a look of disbelief.

"I'm saying, Pirate attacks in the Lylat system, maybe linked to the Mohammad's Army militant movement back in the Sol system. Some of these pirate bands had known links to the Andross Remnant." She stared at him until he continued. "Really, do I have to spell it out for you? Two rouge factions from two warring systems working together? And you don't see that as concerning? Two factions that would want nothing more than their home government replaced with them?" she glanced through the reports, not seeing any kind of connection to them.

"Okay, where's your proof?" he flicked through a few reports.

"Okay, most of these are just pirate groups. Right?" she nodded as she stared at the different groups and locations. It also showed their stalking grounds. "Now each group looks fairly benign, for pirates that is. Most don't have large coverage areas, but when you place them on the same star chart…" she watched as the screen filled, with every single supply route being almost entirely covered.

"So together, they cover a lot of ground. That doesn't say they are connected?" he pulled up charts of ships lost in different regions.

"When you look at the ships they take, you might see a bit of a menagerie. Cargo ships here, passenger liners here, science vessels here, supply ships here. But if these groups were working together, the ship manifests could feed, armor, equip, and fund a fairly large sized combat force. As well as fund each of these operations. And lately, they have only been going for military targets. Now, some of these groups were known affiliates of the Andross remnant, some have direct connections to MacDonnell. Others have connections to other groups." He stopped for a second as she played with the screen.

"So, what happens when you connect the dots?" he smirked as he opened another image, this one looking at a web of connections.

"You get this, and only two operations have no connection to the rest, both of which, we know next to nothing of because they haven't been taken down. A lot of these just disappeared too. No Cornerian Forces dispatched. But, if you take those two out of the other map of coverage, there is a massive gap in it. Now one of these, we can't reach anymore. UEC owns the region, but this one focuses around Titania. Which we can reach." She sighed as she looked at him.

"I think you are just stretching things a bit. You need to get away from the screens." She was about to step away from him when he stopped her.

"Mira, you may be right, but I'm chasing this down. If it means I get to kill the bastard that executed my guys, then hell yes. Even if Fox doesn't agree to it. If that's the case, will you go with me? I know that's asking a lot." She smiled as she responded.

"No it's not. And I will, just put the damn PDA down, and go have some fun! Even sourpuss Krystal has managed it! Ever since the first night, you have been always doing something! First it was getting arrested, then grabbing ammo, then fixing your armor, and I don't even remember all of it! And this in the time you aren't! Just relax! We only have two more days down here!" he glanced at the PDA before he spoke.

"I know. Just, I have a hunch about this Mira. My gut says this is something big." She sighed as she spoke.

"It only says that because MacDonnell could be connected! You don't even know if it's even connected!" he sighed as he spoke.

"You're probably right. Just let me talk to Fox. Worst case, we go to Titania, and free up CDF supplies." She nodded as he stood and stretched.

"Well, he's out on the balcony again. Come on." He walked beside her in silence as they stepped outside. Fox was the only one out there.

"McCloud. I need to speak to you." Fox glanced up from where he was leaning on the railing. he waved the two of them over before he spoke.

"What is it you two?" he had dark bags under his eyes. His eyelids seemed to keep drooping downward.

"Fox, you look exhausted!" he shrugged as he spoke.

"A little bit." Will glanced at her before they both shrugged.

"Fox, as soon as we are back to flight duty, I'm going to Titania." Fox glanced at him and grunted.

"I assume it has to do with all that data you gathered?" Will nodded and continued.

"Yes. I'm looking for evidence of something. I'm not asking the Star Fox team to come with, or for your permission. I'm merely informing you of it." Fox smirked as he patted Hawkins's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I trust you. That means were coming with you kid." Hawkins smiled at him. Something about Fox made it seem like he had aged in just the past couple of weeks.

"Thank you Fox. I hope it's more than a hunch." His attention was drawn back out to the waves far below.

"Me too. Now if you two don't mind, I'd like to be alone." Will patted his shoulder before they turned away. They were both quiet as they went back inside and sat down.

"So, why did you mention Noriega earlier?" I glanced at her, curious as to where she was going to take this.

"We may be able to nail him after this war for working with known terrorists, unless we get him before then." She nodded as silence fell across the room.

"Well, what did you want to do?" she shifted in her seat, her tail and ears fluttering just as they did whenever she was nervous.

"Well, I hear the water front is pretty nice around this time. And there are a few restaurants I've never been too. Might be worthwhile." She was staring at her feet as she spoke.

"Well, as long as you don't call it a date, then let's get going." She smiled as they stood up and left the HQ.

* * *

Krystal glanced out the window as she sat on the sofa. She toke a second look as she realized that Fox was outside, leaning on the balcony rail. She hesitated as she debated talking to him. Her legs carried her to the door, almost of their own accord. Fox didn't even react as the door opened and closed. She spoke softly, afraid of what she had to say to him.

"Fox?" every hair on his body seemed to stand on end as one, his entire body bouncing into the air.

"Oh, Krystal, um hello." He turned to face her, still leaning up against the rail. Krystal leaned up against the railing as well, facing out toward the ship yard. She had intentionally stayed a few feet away from him.

"We need to talk." Fox nodded in agreement, his gaze fixed upon her.

"Okay. What's on your mind?" She glanced at him, seeing how exhausted he was. Her heart seemed to shrivel up inside, sending a sharp pain through her chest.

"I talked to Mira. Why didn't you tell me that she had tried to kill herself?" Fox sighed and glanced out across the water, almost mimicking her own position.

"Hawkins asked me not too. He thought you might rush her and pressure her even more. He just didn't want you to cause another episode." She couldn't look at him as he spoke. Silence stretched between them for what felt like a lifetime. The cruiser in the distance lifted off the birth and slowly rose into space to be outfitted with it's weaponry and crew.

"That's not all we talked about. We also talked about, well, us." Fox stared at her intently, waiting for her to continue. She stared down the building to the waves far below, trying to not look at him. "Fox, I'm sorry, but I don't think we should stay together anymore. We just shouldn't be together. Not in our line of work." She risked glancing at his face before she continued. Tears were already flowing out of his eyes, and her heart felt like it was ripping itself out.

"I understand Krystal." She felt her own tears welling in her eyes as she fought the urge to cry.

"Fox, I really am sorry. You've always meant a lot to me, I just really don't think this is going to work between us. I'm sorry." Her entire body felt hollow and numb as she spoke, still staring at the water far below her. She felt Fox's hand rest on her shoulder as he spoke.

"It's alright. I understand. Do whatever is best for you. It's all I've ever wanted for you." She heard the door open and close behind her and she stopped trying to hold back the tears. She let her face fall onto her crossed arms and sobbed into them.

* * *

I leaned up against the railing staring out into the ocean beyond as old Wet ships drifted by. It was oddly peaceful on the water front, almost as if there wasn't any kind of war going on. I glanced over at Mira, who, although had wanted to come here, seemed sad to be here.

"Hey, something wrong?" she shook her head as she glanced at me. Her gaze slid back to the water as she suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what to think right now." My gaze fell away from her as silence filled the space between us. The silence was suddenly broken as Mira's wrist computer started ringing. She gave me a puzzled look before answering the call. "Hello, this is Mira." A male voice I had never heard before spilled out of the speaker. At the sound of his voice, Mira's face seemed to instantly light up.

"Hey Mira! I'm sorry we didn't get to see each other a couple months back!" she instantly spoke back, her regularly quiet voice drawing the attention of passing Cornerians.

"Robert! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about you! I'll make it up sometime, okay?" the man laughed as she spoke, his own voice sounding like he was ecstatic.

"I hear you're in Corneria city right now. I wrangled a weekend pass from my CO. I just got here, up for anything?" Mira was grinning from ear to ear, her tail flicking wildly as she responded.

"I... Yes I do! Dinner work for you? We could catch up on what you've been up too!" she glanced at me, a look of shame suddenly crossing her face.

"Yeah, look, I know a place not too far from the spaceport. It's just a little café but, it's really good. Meet me over here and I'll show it to you." Mira shifted slightly as she spoke to me.

"Um, Will, I don't want to leave him hanging again. If it's al…" I cut her off as she spoke grinning, even though a small pang shot through my heart.

"Don't worry about it Mira. I'll get the taxi. You just go have fun." She was practically bouncing as I walked back to the street, hailing down a taxi. She trotted over as one pulled up, and I grabbed the door for her. She slid in, still grinning as I sat beside her. "Spaceport, please. Mira, is this that ex-boyfriend you mentioned just before the war?" she nodded still grinning.

"The one and only! His name is Robert McGlocklin. He looks a lot like Fox, but his fur is tan and brown." I smiled to her and stared out the window for the rest of the cab drive. The buildings were covered in neon lights and holographic advertisements that made New York's Times Square look like Scrooge's Christmas tree. The cab pulled onto the curb as we reached the spaceport and I asked him to wait for me as I let Mira out of the car. She almost instantly saw her ex through the crowd and rushed to him.

"Robert!" she wrapped her arms around him with such force that he staggered back. I didn't hear most of their conversation as I caught up, taking a much slower and more polite way through the crowd. The brown furred fox leaned away from me as I approached.

"Mira, who the hell is that?" he was pointing his finger at me as I held out my hand for him to shake it.

"Relax, I'm her wingman, Will Hawkins." He glanced nervously at my sidearm before he gingerly shook my hand.

"I had heard rumors that a human was on the Star Fox team. Guess those are more than rumors. I also heard someone on the team was hurt?" Mira released him as she spoke, her normally quiet self returning.

"Yes. Krystal and I were captured. If it wasn't for Will here, we would both be dead." Robert looked at me, suddenly no longer afraid of me.

"I, thank you Hawkins." I smiled to him as I shrugged.

"It's nothing. I protect my wingman. I'd have done the same for anyone else on the team. Mira, I'll see you later, I'm heading back to the H-Q. Have fun!" she gave me a quick hug as she whispered in my ear.

"Thank you Will!" she released me as she waved goodbye, continuing in a normal voice. "See ya Will, and take care!" I waved goodbye and strode back to the Cab, feeling strangely hollow.

* * *

Katt kicked her feet up on the couch, stretching out on the comfortable surface of it. She jumped as the main door to the HQ opened, letting Hawkins pass through.

"Oh hey Will, where's Mira?" she sat up as she spoke, her gaze fixed on him. He plopped down on the couch beside her before he responded.

"Meeting with an old friend. I hope you don't mind me joining you?" She laughed as she shifted into the corner of the couch, still facing him.

"Of course not!" she smiled at him as she spoke. He had perched on the edge of the couch, almost as if he was ready to dive behind cover. "Did you hear about Krystal and Fox?" he shook his head, giving her a puzzled expression.

"No? What happened?" Katt glanced out on the balcony, checking if either of them were out there.

"Krystal broke up with Fox. I'm not really sure why, she kinda couldn't stop crying but." He stroked his chin for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Where are they then?" she shrugged, her gaze starting to wander the room.

"Krystal is in her room. I think Fox left. I really don't know. So who is this person Mira ditched you for?" he grunted as he stood back up, searching the room for something.

"an ex-boyfriend of hers. Where's the remote?" she raised an eyebrow at him as he moved about the room, looking under things and in drawers.

"really? And what are you looking for?" he stopped and glared at her from where he was crouched.

"The remote for the screen. Ya know, watch T-V? and yes, she is meeting with an ex." She shrugged as she pointed over to the counter in the kitchen.

"It's over there." He trotted over and grabbed it instantly flicking the screen on. "Just fair warning, we only get CNN." He stared at her for a second, one eyebrow raised. "Cornerian news network." He shrugged and sat down as he turned the volume up.

"… News closer to home, one of the members of the esteemed Star Fox team, was arrested almost a week ago. Now, one of the original detectives speaks out on the case, claiming that releasing him was a mistake. We now take you to a live interview with him." The female anchor faded away as a darkened silhouette appeared. The strip at the bottom of the screen displayed the most recent casualty reports. An off screen reporter suddenly spoke.

"Now detective, you said the choice to release the Star Fox member was a mistake. What we as the public are wondering, is why he was arrested, as well as why releasing him was the wrong choice?" the figure shifted slightly, his voice being scrambled as he spoke.

"He was arrested, and he admitted to it, for calling a high ranking member of the United Earth Coalition Military. An information exchange took place, but he was still released. The call was made by very high ranking military official." She watched as Hawkins tensed up, his face starting to grow red.

"Do you, as an officer of the law, believe him to be a threat?" the figure on the screen instantly nodded.

"Absolutely. This person has direct access to high level military intelligence, including troop movements, weapons research, production capabilities, and could easily destroy our leadership, because of how high of respect we hold the Star Fox team to. I believe this man should be detained until further notice, and I guarantee, that if we dug deeper on this individual, we would start uncover evidence of his true allegiance, to the UEC." The screen faded to a conference room, with the original anchor now sitting in the center of a group of people. He was about to turn the screen off as Katt held up a finger.

"Now, there are already arguments coming from the other side of this event, including our very own political analyzer. Tom?" a man that looked extremely similar to General Pepper, only much younger, spoke.

"I actually did some digging on the team and their pasts when I heard of this. If my information is correct, their most recent addition is a human pilot. And there very easily could be a benign reason for calling earth, because his father happens to be a high ranking UEC Admiral. So as far as us in the general populace are concerned, he could've asked for old family photos, and said goodbye to his father. Personally, I believe the call was for reasons with little, if any relation to the current warfare." Hawkins grunted as he shut the screen off.

"Well, at least he as some brains. I just hope this doesn't bite us in the ass." Katt absently nodded as she thought about what the detective had said.

"It's hard to imagine that just two weeks ago, I would've been agreeing with the detective." He smirked as he finally leaned back, his body still oddly rigid.

"Well, what caused you to change your mind?" she grinned, rubbing the side of her face.

"When we arrived at Sauria, I said that you had most likely changed sides. And Mira punched me. Harder than I thought she even could, come to think of it." Hawkins burst out laughing as she spoke.

"You sure you aint just had the sense knocked out of ya?" she laughed with him as she responded, fighting through the laughter.

"Nah, more like knocked into me." He smiled as he stood and stretched.

"I'm sorry, I appreciate the company, but I need some shut eye. I was up later last night than I should've been. Later Katt." She waved to him as he walked out of the room, disappearing into the dorms.

* * *

Fox leaned up against the railing, staring through the view port to the planet below while he waited for Hawkins to clear security. The rest of the group slowly trickled over, gathering off his left. He glanced at Krystal, their eyes meeting for the barest trace of a second before she looked down, hurrying to the other side of the group. Hawkins and Mira caught up with them, Hawkins looking like a pack animal with the two duffel bags of equipment. He dropped it as he leaned up against the railing. Fox could just barely hear Mira's quiet voice.

"There is definitely no place like home." Hawkins chuckled as he responded.

"Well my home is a bit too mobile to be honest." She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow and canting her ear.

"What's home to you then?" he stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke, almost too quiet for Fox to hear.

"I really don't know. They say home is where the heart is. I'll let you know when I find it." Even Fox could sense the deep sadness in his voice. Mira glanced at him before her gaze shifted to Fox.

"Hey Fox, do you think we will ever see her again?" she jerked her thumb toward the planet far below as she spoke. Fox did his best to put on a comforting smile as he looked at her.

"Yeah, I do. We survived so far, who's to say that we won't survive longer?" she smiled as Hawkins smirked.

"Well, all of yall will. Me, who knows? I'm too reckless." Mira playfully punched his shoulder, a smirk crossing her face too.

"Like riding nuclear blasts." Fox decided to join in as a few of the others started paying attention.

"And jumping off cliffs." Hawkins laughed as he responded.

"In my defense, I was being chased by a crazy ass group of dino's intent on skewering me." Fox rolled his eyes, a grin spreading across his face.

"Well, everyone, we got a war to fight. Get your stuff stowed, then I want you all in the briefing room by nineteen hundred hours. Get cracking." He waited for people to start moving to the docking tube before he spoke directly to Hawkins. "And Hawkins, about your concerns for our ground capabilities, from now on, you are in charge on the ground. You have complete control over our set up. Okay?" he nodded and Fox spoke again. "And I want you to set up a briefing on Titania as soon as you can. You have about ten hours if I'm not mistaken."

"Hooah Fox. I'll get started as soon as I'm back up on the ship." Fox watched as he jogged away, easily carrying the two ninety pound duffel bags. Fox took one more look at the planet below before he trotted into the docking tube.

* * *

Mira settled into her seat as the lights in the briefing room dimmed. Fox and Peppy where standing up by the holo projector, already displaying an image of the desert planet, Titania.

"Alright, as most of you already know, we are on our way to Titania. We did contact general Pepper, and this is a CDF sanctioned mission. He sent a pathfinder platoon to the planet to find this base, but they have gone missing. He wants us to find them, and eliminate the pirate threat." The image zoomed in on a section of the planet's surface. "Now, as this mission is by Hawkins request, he will be in charge of the ground operations. And, from now on, if we fight on the ground, he is in charge. Hawkins?" he stood and moved to the front of the room, standing beside Fox.

"Now, the main goal of this mission, after finding the pathfinders, is to secure any and all intelligence we can. Audio recordings, surveillance video, troop and supply movements. Anything we can get our hands on. We will be operating in this region, which has a very large number of ruins. The pirate base is believed to be in this area. Now, we won't know many pirates there are untill we are down there. Therefore I want everyone training in ground combat. I am going to assign a role to each of you, and I want you to do everything you can to perfect your specialties." Falco put his hand into the air. Will stopped speaking and gestured to him to speak.

"What do you mean, specialties? And why the hell do we need them." He stared at him for a second, letting a long pause stretch between them.

"As in, you specifically train to do a specific task. And if we all train to different roles, rather than just basic training, then we will have a more adaptable squad. And, it's easier to train to one skill set, than all of them. So rather than a group of mediocre multirole troops, we have a group of elite individual specialists. As such Falco, I want you training as a sniper. You have a sharp eye, I think that will play to your advantage." He grunted as Hawkins gestured to Katt. "Katt, you are his spotter."

"Spotter? What do mean?" he sighed as he responded.

"I mean, you work with him, spot targets, help him with range and atmospheric conditions. You should also train with a sniper rifle or marksmen's rifle." She nodded as he looked at Krystal. "Krystal, you will be our close quarters combat and stealth insertion specialist. I think your telepathy will play a vital role there." She nodded as he turned to face Fox. "Fox, you will act as our Assault specialist. Room clearing, bunker breaching, rapid movement. Bill, I want you to act as our heavy weapons specialist. Get yourself a squad automatic weapon of some sort. Shouldn't be too different from that heavy rifle of yours. Lucy, I want you to act as our scout. Be ready to be memorizing terrain, potential paths, enemy locations, numbers, and equipment. I think if you stay light, then your speed and jumping ability will give you an advantage." Mira shifted nervously as he looked at her. He gave her a gentle smile before he spoke. "And Mira, I want you to act as our medic. This does not mean the rest of you shouldn't learn at least basic first aid, and Mira, don't think you won't be fighting." She gulped as she looked down. Peppy's voice caused her to look back up.

"What about you Hawkins?" he shrugged as he spoke.

"Fire team leader and demolitions. Any other questions?" the room grew silent as his gaze slid across each of them. "Alright then, you all have a lot of work to do. Dismissed!" she stood and waited for Hawkins and walked out with him.

"Do you really think I should be fighting on the ground? I'm not exactly well acclimated to blood." He smirked and patted her shoulder.

"What you should be more worried about, is having to use a blaster" he steered her to the elevator and pressed a button for the training floor.

"Where are we going?" his smirk changed into a grin.

"Training range. Trust me, I've seen you shoot. You need it." she glared at him as the elevator opened. She followed him out as they marched through the ship.

"You know, I'm not exactly knowledgeable in first aid either." he stopped and faced her, placing his hands on his hips.

"So, would you rather learn how to put holes in people, or patch them?" she smiled as she signaled for him to follow her.

"Personally, putting them in." he smirked again as he caught up to her.

"Good." They grabbed two of the training blasters off the wall after they walked in. They were basically firing a laser pointer at a screen, but it was the closest they could get to a real range. "Alright, first, breathe. At the end of your breath out, gently squeeze the trigger. I'll set the target for four hundred and fifty yards." She did what he said, and watched as the screen added a tally to the missed column. He raised his own weapon and squeezed off three rounds. Three tally's marked up on the screen.

"How do you do that? Just pop it up and shoot like that?" he smirked as he glanced down at the weapons.

"For one, I use the sights. For two, training. Believe me, I'm not good. Should've seen what my team mate could do." She grunted as she raised the weapon again. He placed a hand on her back and forced her to lean forward slightly, kicked her feet out to where she was standing with her left foot slightly ahead of her right, shoulder width apart.

"So what can your ex-team mate do?" she fired and watched a hit get tallied onto the screen.

"I watched him put a three round burst into man's face at almost nine hundred meters. M-32's are spec-ed to six hundred and fifty." She was stunned for a second, staring at him, "And he took maybe a second to line up and fire." She shook her head as she aimed again, this time assuming the position he had forced her into. She fired three more times, only one hitting, but knowing the others had just barely missed. He patted her shoulder as he stepped through the doorway. "Keep it up. And you may just make soldier in my books." He winked at her before the door closed, leaving herself alone in the room.


	13. Chapter 13: The Maze

Fox trotted into the hanger, shifting Bill's heavy blaster on his shoulder. Bill was packing a large, belt fed Gatling gun with a tripod, and a blaster carbine, so Fox was borrowing it to fill his role. He glanced around the room, instantly realizing just how much more intimidating the group was. Krystal had dropped her normal machinegun, using a small specialized weapon, firing large low velocity rounds, so it could be silenced without losing too much power. She also had a hand made combat rig on her chest, holding magazine pouches and two blaster pistols. Her staff was slung over her shoulder. Mira was now wearing Hawkins Pilot vest, stripped of its magazine pouches. She also had a blaster carbine, and a small assault pack. Everyone in the room had a pistol somewhere on them. Only Hawkins seemed no different from his normal armor and weapons. Each of them now had a small eyepiece, much like Falco's HUD rig. Hawkins tossed him one as he trotted closer.

"That eyepiece is already linked to our battle net. Drone is coming with." He nodded as they waited for Peppy and Slippy to arrive. They were going to be piloting the shuttle and watching it. The

+whole group seemed to shift nervously, especially Mira. Peppy and Slippy finally arrived and Fox followed them onto the shuttle. The door closed as the shuttle was lifted into the air. Slippy grace fully guided the ship around the Freighter and out into space. Titania loomed in the viewport as Peppy spoke.

"I did a last minute check, and I found the Pathfinders vessel. It's landed here, nearby these ruins. It looks abandoned." Fox watched as Hawkins racked the bolt on his rifle. The others glanced around, all nervous.

"Look, everyone. These are just pirates. They will not have the equipment the UEC has. Or the organization, or the training. We will be fine. Just stay down, do as I say, and we make it home in one piece. No heroes, got it?" Fox nodded with the rest of the group. Hawkins slammed his helmet onto his head as the craft began to violently shake and whine. Flame rose up in the view port ahead of them. The shaking came to a stop as they entered the atmosphere. The craft gently set down on the sand and sunlight blared in as the rear hatch dropped. Hawkins was the first out, followed by Fox. They had landed just meters away from the Pathfinders ship, almost buried in the shifting sand. Hawkins lowered his weapon, facing away from the ship. Fox turned to face the same way as him. They were facing a large rectangular entrance way, large enough for a land master to comfortable enter.

"I'd bet every dime I have ever made that the Pathfinders went down there." Fox smirked as Peppy shouted to them.

"The ship is empty, no weapons, rations, nothing. They had enough to last at least three months on board only been out here maybe, four weeks?" Fox glanced at Hawkins as he turned and spoke to the group at large.

"Alright, Peppy, Slippy, find out what you can about that ship. Everyone else, down the hole!" he trotted into the ruin, his rifle light flicking on the second he entered it. Fox turned his own on, all eight flashlights brightly illuminating the dark passageway. They kept trotting for what seemed like almost an hour until they finally came up on a fork in the tunnel. There were four other passageways in front of them. Hawkins stared at them for a second before dropping something on the ground. It suddenly popped as he stared at his wrist computer. "These paths wind around after about twenty meters. We should split up. I'll drop a beacon here so we can find our way back." Fox lowered the weapon as he faced the group. "Alright, Fox and bill, you two take a tunnel. Mira, Lucy, you got another. Falco, Katt, don't kill each other. Krystal, you're with me. Move out!" Fox glanced at Krystal as they raised their weapons and moved down one of the hallways. Bill tapped his shoulder and Fox followed him down the passageway.

"Hey Fox, you alright? You've seemed out of it since, well, you know." Fox sighed as they continued down the passageway.

"I'm Fine Bill. Just focus on the mission. You can interrogate me about Krystal later." Bill grunted as they made another turn, going deeper into the ruins. Bill had thrown on Cornerian infantry armor, rather than his normal flight suit. He was the only other person to be wearing a helmet. They came around another bend and found themselves at the end of a long hallway. Fox's fur stood on end as they moved deeper in. an object loomed ahead of them, propped up against the wall. Fox could barely make out the shape of the soldier as they approached him. Fox crouched at the corpse, seeing the Pathfinder insignia on his chest plate.

"One of ours?" Fox nodded as he stood and faced Bill. A clean hole had been punched through the pathfinder's chest, not being instantly fatal.

"Yeah." They were quiet until a click drew his attention. "What was that?" Bill shrugged as they faced either way down the passage. Fox tentatively took a few more steps forward when he felt the floor suddenly give way beneath him. He screamed as he plummeted a short distance, landing in a heap at the bottom.

"Fox! You alright down there!?" Fox got to his feet, seeing the almost nine meter shaft above him.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Just keep moving, we'll regroup later!" Fox scanned around him as Bill hollered into the shaft.

"Rodger that! Be careful!" he gave Bill a thumbs up before choosing a direction in the passageway and marching down it. Minutes seemed to drag by until he heard another faint click. He cautiously looked around, trying to figure out what the next trap could be. Nothing happened, so he cautiously inched forward. He shrugged and started trotting along the tunnel again.

* * *

Krystal marched on in the dark hallway. She had given up on being cautious as they moved through the passage, letting her weapon balance loosely in her hands. Hawkins on the other hand, stayed weapon raised and ready for a fight. She rolled her eyes at him as a faint click echoed in the hallway. Not half a second later, Hawkins rifle light exploded, plunging them into darkness. The blue diamond that was on her HUD disappeared at the same time, her entire HUD disappearing.

"Damn it, EMP." The hallway lit up as he fired a single silvery bolt into the wall. "Well, at least our weapons aren't down." She sighed as she tried to squint through the darkness. "We need light, ideas?" she slung her rifle and grabbed the staff on her back. It stayed compressed as she held it out in front of her. The bulbous end split open, a blue flame erupting from it and illuminating the passage. "Hmm, nifty. Where did you get that thing anyway?" she glanced at him as she spoke.

"My mother, back on Cerinia. It's the only thing I have left of them." He stopped for a second, staring at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." She shrugged as they started to move again. He kept glancing at her as they marched through the hallway.

"I never really got to know my mother. She was always busy with something. I had actually run away when Cerinia was destroyed." Tears started to well into her eyes as she remembered the fight with her parents. "I was only sixteen then." He stopped her as he forced her to face her.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I am very interested in continuing this conversation, but this aint the time." Krystal nodded, wiping the traces of moisture that had formed there. They walked on in silence, the eerie blue light being their only guide. They reached a fork in the path and Hawkins instantly spoke.

"Let's split up." He was already moving toward one of the passageways, one hand reaching for a pouch at the small of his back.

"Wait, you have no way to see!" he smirked as he pulled a pair of goggles out. He attached them onto a rail on his helmet and slid them over his visor.

"Night vision. And IR and Magnetic. EMP shielded." He looked bug eyed with the goggles down, but she guessed if it worked, it didn't really matter what he looked like.

"Alright. Be careful okay?" he shrugged and turned down the passage, quickly disappearing. She smiled for a second before heading off down her passageway. She held her staff high above her head as she walked, one of her blaster pistols loosely in her hand. It felt like time simply dragged longer and longer on as the path twisted and coiled around. She suddenly felt life not far ahead of her and she broke into a trot, her weapons raised. A figure loomed in front of her, curled up on the floor of the passage. Her light slowly illuminated the soldier as she drew closer, and the light stirred him awake. He shot to his feet, a sword already swinging at Krystal. She extended the staff and deflected the blow just in time. His armor was stripped and battered, but he was clearly one of the pathfinders. He moved to swing again as Krystal shouted.

"Whoa there, I'm a friend." His blood shot green eyes stared at her, disbelieving. "My name is Krystal. What about you?" he slid against the wall, slowly collapsing. He had small injuries all across his body, including a cut along the top of his muzzle that dried blood had sealed over. He was a lupine with deep brown fur. His face and muzzle was the lightest shade, and his fur growing darker the further away from his face you looked.

"Saber." She felt mesmerized by him. His sleeveless green uniform seem to fit him perfectly.

"Where's the rest of your unit Saber." He couldn't look at her as he spoke, his eyes cast into his lap.

"I think I'm the only one left. There are traps all over this place." She offered him a hand up and he accepted it, keeping his sword in hand. The edges of the blade seemed to glow an eerie blue, as if it was alive. His blaster carbine was dangling on his back, on top of the assault pack.

"What unit are you with?" he was looking up and down her, taking in every inch of her non-standard gear.

"I'm a member of the Star Fox team. Now, did you find the pirates?" he nodded as the sword seemed to stop glowing. He slid it into a partial sheathe on his back as he spoke.

"I've seen them, but that's all. I've just been running from place to place, just trying to stay alive." Krystal patted his shoulder and gestured down the passageway. He nodded and the two of them set off together down the passage. He kept glancing at her as they walked.

"What?" his eyes dropped to his feet as he spoke.

"Nothing. You just look familiar, that's all." She smiled slightly as she held the staff up between them, casting long shadows on the walls of the corridor.

"Really? Where from?" he shrugged as he grabbed the carbine off his back.

"My home world, Cerinia." She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him.

"But, I thought I was the only survivor?" he chuckled as he spoke, staring off into the darkness, almost as if it was into the past.

"My dad was a Cornerian mercenary. Got hired to deal with pirates and fell in love with my mother. He had taken me with him to Corneria when Cerinia was destroyed." He finally looked at her again, staring intently at the staff in her hand. "That's where my sword comes from. It was a gift to dad, given you don't need to be a telepath to master it. Unlike those." she shook her head bewildered.

"huh. Well, I'm glad to find you, Saber." A weak smile splayed across his face as they marched deeper into the dark passageway.

* * *

Mira pounded on the thick stone wall now between her and Lucy, screaming.

"Lucy! Can you hear me! Lucy!" her voice came through the wall, heavily muffled.*

"I'm okay! Just keep moving! We can link back up later!" Mira shuddered as she slumped up against the heavy stone. She gasped for air, still trying to recover from the last trap they had encountered.

"Okay." Her voice felt unnatural to her as she shouted. Images of the massive boulder rolling after them, drawing closer and closer, flashed through her mind. She shuddered again and shakily stood up. They had to be under some sort of jamming field, because anytime Lucy had gone farther than two meters from her, her HUD would stop marking her. She startled as she heard footsteps approaching. She aimed toward the source of them, her light illuminating the hallway. A dark shape formed in her light just seconds before Hawkins familiar armor was lit up.

"Hey Mira. Couldn't tell who it was through the night vision." He was sliding the strange googles up onto his helmet as he spoke. She smiled as she trotted up to him.

"Hey Will. Me and Lucy just got separated." He simply shrugged and walked past her, still moving forward.

"Don't worry about it. As long as she is alive, then it doesn't really matter." Mira nodded, trotting to keep up. Will suddenly held his hand up. She could just barely hear more footsteps, but these were metallic in nature. He slid his goggles back down, giving his eyes a very bug like quality. He spun snapping his rifle up. "Down!" he slammed into her as red bolts ripped past overhead. She aimed and fired as silver bolts from Wills rifle lanced down the hall, illuminating the androids. They looked a lot like Rob, only covered in armor plating and with various weapons built into them. One of the mechs detonated as Will yanked her to her feet. "Run!" she needed no second invitation. The two of them slid around a corner as Will dropped something onto the ground.

"What was that?" he just shoved her forward and kept running. They slid to a stop in the sand as the Mechs rounded the corner behind them. Time came to a halt as Mira watched Will pull the trigger on a detonator in his hand. The entire hallway shook as dust and debris blasted past them. She was shocked as none of the fused bits of metal hit them.

"C4. Come on." she followed him through the hallways, being careful to not point her rifle at him. He had told her that if she ever pointed her weapon at a team mate, or 'flagged' them, as he said, that he would personally shoot her. She stopped as he raised a fist, staring at the floor. "Mines, step where I step." He started to gingerly step through the corridor. She couldn't discern how he could see where the mines were as she followed.

"Will, how do you know where these mines are?" he was quiet for a second before he jumped and began trotting normally.

"Magnetic detection vision, with a SONAR overlay. Anything that reacts to or puts out a magnetic field, I can see." She smirked as she made the same jump he did. She landed awkwardly and started to fall backward, her heart leaping into her throat. Will's hand shot out and grabbed her chest plate, instantly shouting. "Do not move your feet!" she gulped as he gently pulled her up right and away from the mines. She let out a sigh of relief when he finally let go of her armor.

"Thanks Will." He waved it off as they marched into a massive room. Two balconies ran on either side of the room, and each of the four corners had a tunnel leading into the room. They moved out of the corner, stepping around stone pyramids and columns filling the room, almost like it was set up as an arena. They reached the center, finding a small fort like structure with four pyramids as the corners and four columns laid down as walls.

"Paint ball anyone?" Mira raised her eyebrow at him, confused. Red blaster shots started lancing through the arena and Will dragged her over one of the columns. She stopped trying to count how many androids she saw as she fired round after round at them. She ducked down and held the trigger, creating a charged shot. Her body moved of its own accord as she popped up and released the massive bolt. The red ball evaporated the chest of one mech, tearing the head off another. Silver bolts lanced out from beside her and her jaw dropped as the shots seemed to just tear through the mechs. They both dropped down, sitting on the sand as large volumes of red bolts shot over, heating the already scorching hot air.

"I think they have us out numbered will!" his shoulders dropped as he glared at her.

"Nah, I hadn't noticed! Just keep shooting, okay?" she grinned as she leaned up, firing into a mech advancing on them. The air was suddenly filled with an almighty crack as a red lance tore clean through a pair of androids. High pithed blasts filled the air as silvery blue bolts lanced out from the same balcony as the sniper rounds that were now raining down on the Mechs. She smirked as she recognized the silhouettes of Falco and Katt up on the balcony. The last of the androids fell, easily outmatched by the four of them. Falco's voice drifted down to them as he hollered.

"Hey guys, guess you owe us one!" Will smirked as he hollered back.

"Nah, we were fine! Keep moving, we'll link up later if we can!" Falco waved as he marched out, Katt following. Will motioned for her to follow as he marched over to the middle of one of the long walls. She hadn't noticed it when she walked in, but there was a steel door in the wall. Will grabbed out a block of what looked like clay and mashed it onto the metal. He tapped a few keys on the control pad and dropped behind a column. She stood behind him and nodded to him, showing herself as ready. He detonated the charge and rushed around the corner. He was through the doorway, already swathed in smoke and dust. She heard his rifle go off as she rushed in after him.

* * *

Bill heard a faint click and froze. Every trap he had encountered so far had been forewarned by that click. He heard a strange sprang and narrowly dodged the long metal shaft that shot through the air. He felt something tear into the side of his upper arm and he clutched the fresh wound. He moved his hand to look at the wound, realizing it was just a graze.

"Damn this hurts!" he clenched and unclenched his fists as he walked, trying to block out the pain. He turned the corner and walked right into Lucy. She fell onto her rump as he staggered slightly, still clutching the bleeding wound. "Oh crap, sorry Lucy." He extended his hand for the brown and grey furred woman and helped her to her feet. She smirked as she brushed dust off of her.

"It's alright bill. Wait what happened to your arm?" he grimaced as he stared at it for a second.

"Trap. It's not serious, just hurts like no one's business." Lucy grabbed out her first aid kit and put a simple bandage over his injury. Blood was slowly soaking the bandage, but at least he no longer had to hold it. "Thanks Lucy. She smiled at him as she repacked the kit.

"No problem. Come on, there is a passage back here I didn't try." Bill nodded and followed her, raising his carbine up to his shoulder. Fox had insisted that Slippy install the folding stock on his own carbine onto all of the weapons, and Bill definitely wasn't complaining. They darted through one dark passage after another until they heard what sounded like voices. They both stopped and crouched, straining their ears to listen.

"Well, someone was here alright. Blasted all the androids apart. Some sort of bomb. Better tell the boss." The other man sighed, clearly irritated with his partner.

"Damn it Burt, when are you gonna realize that we can't use our radios in the maze!? Boss doesn't want anyone able to call out." There was a shuffle of feet on sand as the two men started moving. Bill instantly flicked his light off, Lucy less than a second behind him.

"I know that. Damn, whoever this guy is, he is definitely good. Or just has a big ass gun." Two figures were illuminated by the helmet flash lights on their armor as they came around a bend. They paused, seeing a fork in the path, one leading toward Bill and Lucy, the other to an unknown area.

"Hold up, let me check my map. Why the hell did our boss want this damn maze anyway? Constantly having to dodge traps and crud, and damn near impossible to know where the hell you're going!" Bill tapped Lucy's shoulder and toke aim. He tapped out a count down on her shoulder, starting with three fingers, then two, then one, and finally, he fired. Both soldiers dropped and they flicked their lights on.

"Quick, get that map!" she nodded and plugged into their PDA. She downloaded the map and transferred it to him as she spoke.

"Well that's useful as all hell. Come on, we want this fork." Bill followed her through the winding passageway, occasionally stopping to check the map. They stepped out onto a balcony of some sort. The air was filled with the smell of fused metal and acrid smoke. Bill coughed as he aimed his rifle below, seeing the mounds of destroyed androids.

"Damn, someone really tore them a new asshole. Where too?" Lucy pointed to the other side of the balcony and they trotted along, the ninety pounds of ammo and Gatling gun making him fight for air. They finally rounded a few downward stairwells and stopped, listening again. They could hear weapons fire somewhere close by. Bill took off running, following his ears. He could hear Lucy's own footsteps hot on his tail.

* * *

Fox staggered back to his feet, having just barely dodged a massive swinging axe blade. He looked back, shaking his head.

"What mad man designed this hell hole?" he leaned up against the wall, panting. He started hearing loud barks again and he cursed. The pirates had been releasing Canines at him since he had fallen down the shaft. Fox dropped the rifle, letting it dangle on the tactical sling. His shotgun slid out of its holster as he brought it in front of him. Cornerian Shotguns were projectile based, using a magnetic rail to sling the metal pellets at the target. Thus, requiring one to rack the weapon between shots. Human shot guns used the same Uranium based Plasma shots, only each pellet was coated in ceramic that burst on contact. Fox racked it as the first dog sprinted around the corner. The first shot gun blast dropped it as he ran down the hallway. Another dog came out of a side path, already leaping for Fox. He racked the weapon, brought it up and fired. The dog's corpse slammed into him, knocking him down. He was about to roll over when a third dog bit down on his arm. Fox managed to grab his blaster with his left hand and fired a pair of bolts into the animals gut. He shoved the dead animal off and sat up, staring at his right fore arm. The puncture marks on it stung like all hell, but were barely bleeding. He sighed as he got to his feet, replacing the blaster and Shotgun to their holsters. Fox was suddenly cast off his feet. His vision flashed as explosion after explosion rocked the hallway. Shrapnel tore into his body in more places than he could count. One piece had torn the skin just beneath his eye. The explosions stopped as he fought to his feet. His vision blurred and swam as he tried to keep moving.

_ Krystal, I hope you're listening. I need your help._ Fox stumbled and fell to his knees. He tried to force himself back to his feet and kept moving. He heard a faint click and froze, hoping it wasn't another mine. There was a strange springing sounded just before a long shaft ripped through his gut. Fox gasped before he collapsed to the sand. he fought to keep his eyes open as a silhouette approached from down the hall.

"Fox?" the figure lifted Fox's arm and wrapped it over his shoulders. "Hang in there Fox. I'm getting you out of here." Fox stared at the familiar figure, trying to think past the cloud that had filled his brain. He could see the glass panel covering the cybernetic eye.

"Wolf? Wh- where did you come from?" Wolf grunted as he responded.

"I could say the same to you Fox." He gently set Fox down, leaning him up against the wall. "Listen, one of your team members is headed this way. I have to go draw the pirates away. Stay alive Fox, and remember pup, this war is not what it seems." Fox tried to grab him, to stop him.

"Wolf. Don't go. Please." Fox blinked and another silhouette was running toward him. It formed into two people as he heard one of them shout.

"Fox?! Oh no, Fox!" Krystal slid to a stop in the sand, her eyes flicking to each of the wounds. "Hang in there Fox, I'm getting you out." She was about to pull him to his feet as Fox spoke, his voice weak.

"Krystal." He tried to raise his hand to her, but it just dropped back into his lap. Red blaster bolts began to rip past as the second figure crossed into his vision, someone he didn't recognize. He felt hands that weren't Krystal's as silvery bolts of light shot past, followed by Hawkins.  
"Mira, Krystal, haul him out! New guy, Suppressive fire!" Krystal pulled his arm over her shoulder, much as Wolf had just done, as Mira tried to tend to his stomach wound. More blaster bolts were ripping past as Falco and Katt ducked in and out of cover, firing on unseen enemies. His eyes snapped open as Krystal froze. There was a pirate blocking their path. He was suddenly sent sprawling by a pair of combat boots kicking the side of his head. Lucy sprang back to her feet as she shouted.

"Come on! This way! We found a map!" she led the way past Bill, who was busy setting up the massive Gatling gun in the hallway. A high pitched whine filled Fox's ears as the weapon started firing. His eyes shut again, and when they opened, he was lying flat on his back, inside the shuttle.

"Slippy, go! That's all of us. We need doc Townsend in the hanger when we get there!" he didn't hear Slippy's response as Hawkins shoved Krystal aside as he pulled the wrapping off Fox's stomach. He grimaced as he looked Fox in the eye, speaking.

"Just hang in there McCloud, you're gonna be fine!" his voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel as his vision darkened.

"Come on Fox! Please don't die on me!" Krystal's voice was so quiet and distant, that he almost thought he had imagined it. Within seconds, there was no light or sound in his mind anymore.

* * *

Wolf half ran onto the bridge of the wolfhound, instantly speaking to riley.

"I want you to hail the Great Fox, now!" Riley opened the sensor data, speaking as calmly as possible.

"This was from just two minutes ago. The Great Fox is long gone. She fired a few rounds planet side and jumped out." Wolf cursed as the com terminal suddenly lit up. He answered the call and Admiral Douglas appeared.

"O'Donnell, any luck planet side?" he shook his head as he moved to in front of the camera.

"I found Panther, but they wiped their own hard drives. They knew we were coming. And they know we are hunting for data." Douglas stared at his boots, as if he wasn't sure how to say what was on his mind.

"We have a bigger problem. Operational control of the invasion has been handed over to the Russian Prime minister. He explicitly stated that all reports home were to go through him. I have a hunch that if I were to even try to send any evidence back, he would stop it. Just my gut sayin so." Wolf nodded as he ordered a course to regroup with the Admiral's battle groups.

"Alright. I ran into Star Fox down there. Didn't get the chance to say anything to them. But, I think they won't be too keen on this war if they keep digging." The admiral stroked his chin as he turned away from the screen, clearly lost in though.

"Alright. See you at the fleet. Douglas out." The image Faded away as Wolf turned back to the other people on the bridge.

"Status, now!" Panther was instantly speaking, his normally smooth silky voice rough and dry.

"Bad. Haven't slept or eaten in days. Been surviving off dead path finders." Wolf turned his attention to Leon, who was busy on one of the consoles.

"Anything from Dash?" Leon held up a finger while he finished reading.

"Yes, the stupid kid found out some information about the public standing. A lot of the government is becoming unsure of the star fox teams loyalty, a few individuals in particular. He is going to try to hack into the galactic net and see what else he can find. Also has leads of members of the intelligence community that maybe crooked." Wolf started pacing back and forth as he spoke to the ships pilot.

"Riley, status?" the pilot didn't even look up from his screens as the primate spoke.

"Ship is adjusting course, re adjusting power flow for Warp jump. Engines are primed for the jump." Wolf stopped pacing as he dropped into his command chair.

"Panther, go get some food in you and rest. Riley, punch it." the ship vibrated violently as the cluster of main engines fired, pushing the ship to close to a tenth of the speed of light. The craft could attain a much higher velocity, but the gravity in the system drew enough micro particles together that made high speed space travel dangerous. The ship finally settled as riley spoke.

"Alright, should rendezvous in a few hours. You guys look exhausted. And no offense, don't smell too great either." Wolf grunted as he stood back up, resisting the urge to yawn and stretch.

"Riley, you have the bridge." Wolf stepped off the bridge and made for his cabin.

* * *

I stared through the window as Townsend treated Fox's injuries. Krystal was standing beside me, as well as the Pathfinder we had recovered, Saber. Saber kept glancing between Fox and Krystal, clearly mesmerized by Krystal, yet strangely concerned about Fox's welfare. Townsend finally set his tools down and stepped out of the medical bay, instantly speaking.

"Fox has lost a lot of blood. He isn't yet at the point in which he actually needs a blood transfusion to survive, but he is close. All of my O-negative was used up when Krystal was injured. Med supplies are still on back order. It will be a while before I'll let him fly again." I sighed as I glanced through the glass.

"Will human blood work?" Townsend looked me up and down, almost as if he was grading me.

"Under normal circumstances yes, but your medical file says you don't have the same as him. No one on the ship is O-neg, and that is all he can accept." Saber instantly stepped forward, his deep smooth voice breaking Krystal out of her trance.

"I'm O-neg doc. I can help him." Townsend clapped his shoulder and led him into the med bay as Krystal finally spoke.

"Do you think he is going to be alright?" I smiled at her in as much of a reassuring way as I could.

"Yeah, he will. I've seen people come home and make a full recover after much worse. Just could be a slow road." She smiled weakly as she stared through the glass.

"I still care about him. I don't know if I ever won't." I rested one of my hands on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"So? Embrace it. You don't have to be dating someone to care about them. Look at me and Mira." She laughed, stiffly, but still genuinely.

"I don't think you two make a good example there Will. I know what your dreams are." I playfully punched her shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I tried. Come on, you look like you could use a bite." She nodded and followed as I led the way to the galley. Savannah was serving a Cornerian version of a cheeseburger, made from animals I had never heard of before. Mira slid into the seat next to Krystal as we all sat in one of the corners.

"Hey Will, Krystal. How's Fox?" Krystal tried to smile as she spoke, clearly fighting the urge to cry.

"Townsend thinks he will be fine. He's getting a blood transfusion as we speak." Mira smiled as I bit into the food, trying my best to be polite about it.

"That's really good. I hope he's alright." Krystal smiled at Mira, this time much more genuinely.

"Yeah, it is. Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but didn't you go on a date before we left? How'd it go?" Mira seemed to shrivel, her tail flicking madly behind her.

"Um, yeah, it went well. We're planning on reconnecting if we both survive this war. He is actually a squadron commander already, was just given a command when we left Corneria." Krystal smiled and hugged Mira, seeming much happier than when she was outside the med bay. Mira glanced at me, her voice filled with sarcasm. "Hungry Will? I got another sandwich here if you need it." I had already finished my burger while they chatted.

"nah I'm good Mira. I might steel those French fries though." She chuckled, a new voice drawing our attention.

"Do you guys mind if I join you?" the foot soldier from the ground had a tray of food in his hands, looking at us expectantly.

"Sure, Saber, right? My name's Will." He nodded and shook my hand as Mira snaked her own in front of Krystal. He shook hers as I spoke for her. "And this is Mira." He nodded to her as he turned his attention toward me.

"I have to ask, but how the hell did a human get on Star Fox?" I rolled my eyes as Krystal spoke.

"Because he was good enough. And he watched Cicero happen." Saber nodded, evidently content with this answer as he dug into his food. He was moaning softly with each bite until both Mira and myself could not help but laugh.

"What!? You would be savoring every bite if you had been living off protein nibs for weeks too!" I smirked as I remembered my days in field training with the military.

"Well, I do understand. I was stuck on a primitive world for almost two weeks what, four and a half years ago?" I half glared at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Oh come on, you were in a stasis crystal for all but what, twelve hours?" she laughed as she spoke to me directly.

"You didn't see how I ate afterwards. It was most… Unladylike. Even Saber here is eating much more pleasantly." Mira looked smug as she responded to Krystal.

"Well, clearly _someone_ didn't get put off by it!" Krystal's face darkened as I kicked Mira's shin, glaring at her. She looked at me with a pained expression until she understood what she had said. She made an _Oh! _expression with her mouth as I spoke.

"I'm sure it was quite the scene Krystal." She stared at me for the barest trace of a second before her voice floated through my mind.

_I know your trying to help, but don't push it._ Her voice came out strained as she spoke aloud.

"Well, I'm not really hungry. I think I'm going to go catch some sleep. Good night. Or day, whatever." She slid her untouched tray toward Saber before she stood and marched out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Krystal swung and countered against an invisible enemy, her staff feeling more like a friend than a weapon. She finished a rapid flurry of combos as a voice spoke, making her jump.

"That's some pretty smooth work there. Want to go a few rounds, you look like you could use a sparring buddy." She smiled at saber as he stepped onto the training mat, his hand already pulling the sword off his back.

"Alright, fine. Hope that thing is dull." Saber grinned as he gracefully twirled the weapon.

"That's the funny thing about Cerinian weapons. They are only as sharp as you want them to be." He suddenly lunged forward, thrusting the blade at her chest. She barely managed to deflect it just before swinging the bulbous end of her staff at him. The sparing match went on like this, eternally locked in an almost dance with one another, neither one gaining the advantage. He suddenly backed off far enough for them to speak.

"You're really good Krystal." Her tail flicked as she felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

"So are you, Saber. Are you a telepath?" he shook his head smiling as they circled each other like vultures.

"No. well, scientifically speaking, I'm an empath, meaning I can sense people's emotions and intentions. But not thoughts. So you can't lie to me, but I won't know the truth either." She smirked as she lunged forward, swinging toward him. He narrowly deflected it as she darted back.

"So, you didn't see that coming?" his grin expanded as he shook his head at her. They both jumped as a third voice joined them.

"That's pretty damn good there Saber. She mopped the ring with my ass." She glanced up to see Will leaning against the wall, watching them.

"You were stuck with a staff Will. It isn't exactly your specialty." He shrugged as he moved onto the training mat.

"Yeah, good point. Hey saber, one on one, you with your pointy thing, me with mine." Will's knife slide out of it's sheathe, being easily flipped into an upright grip. Saber shrugged as he stood in front of Will, Krystal politely stepping out of the way.

"Alright, ladies first Will." Will simply assumed his combative stance, flicking the knife back into a reverse grip. Saber suddenly sent his blade in a fast overhead strike. His blade was just a flash of light, but Hawkins was somehow faster, deflecting the blade away from him with the tiny knife. As Saber staggered from the missed blow, Will slammed his fist into Saber's wrist, knocking the sword from his hands, then stepped closer and spun, slamming his elbow into Saber's back. Before Saber could stagger away, Will had snaked the knife around his neck and held the dull backside of the blade onto Saber's throat.

"Never underestimate a knife. The second you do is the second you lose." Saber grinned and shook Will's hand.

"I have to ask, but how'd you get hand to hand classes?" Will smirked as he responded.

"Back home, on earth. Again?" he shook his head as he rubbed his shoulder blade and moved to Krystal. Saber was sweating profusely as he sat down beside her. She suddenly realized that she was doing the same.

"That was pretty impressive Hawkins." He shrugged at the sound of her voice, plopping down on the other side of Saber.

"Knifes are just something infantry need to know their way around. I'm better with a knife than anything else." Krystal grunted as she collapsed her staff, dropping it into her lap. Hawkins suddenly stood up, speaking. "I'm going to go see if there is anything close to a flight simulator on this ship. See ya around." Krystal glanced nervously at Saber after he left, the room suddenly felt almost awkward. Silence stretched between them before Saber finally spoke.

"So, you and Fox eh?" Krystal laughed as she responded.

"No. not anymore." Saber grunted, a smirk appearing on his face. He stood and offered her a hand up. She smiled as she accepted it, easily being pulled to her feet.

"Any way, I should go find that room I'm to be sleeping in. I think the name was Bill or something?" Krystal followed him through the doorway, her voice rising a few octaves.

"So Will moved back in with Mira! That's good. I'll show you the way." He smiled to her as they stepped into the elevator.

"Thanks Krystal. And no, it's only temporary until I'm off the ship. Apparently, he likes sleeping in Bill's room. Says him and Bill are always swapping stories." She smirked as the elevator stopped.

"Mira and Will are wing mates. And our two newest pilots. And here we are!" she stopped facing Saber with her hands resting on her hips.

"Well, thanks. I'll see ya around." He knocked on the door as she spoke to him, unable to stop smiling.

"Oh you can count on that." Krystal trotted off down the hall. She suddenly stopped as she heard voices coming from Mira and Will's open door.

"Peppy says Fox will be out of action for a while. Wants me to lead the team until he recovers." Krystal got as close as she dared as Mira responded.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" she heard Hawkins sigh before he continued.

"No it's not Mira. The last time I commanded anyone, I lost almost all of them. If I'm in charge, then it's just going to happen again." Krystal suddenly decided to join the conversation and stepped into the doorway, leaning on the frame.

"Will, you'll do fine. Half the plans we have gone into battle with have been your invention. You can do this." Both of them jumped as she spoke. Will faced her, looking terrified.

"oh, we didn't know the door was open. I guess, but thinking of a plan and executing it are two totally different things." Krystal smiled at him and stepped into the room, gently squeezing his arm.

"You'll do fine Will. Quit worrying." A yellow light flicked on as Rob's voice penetrated the air.

"All Pilots, report to the Bridge. Repeat." Krystal smirked as she stepped out of the room, beckoning them.

"And here's the chance to prove it to yourself."


	14. Chapter 14: Ambushed

Mira rushed after Will and Krystal as they shot onto the bridge. She noticed the Pathfinder was there too as Peppy spoke to the Hologram of General Pepper. He was sitting in a wheel chair for some reason she didn't know. Last she had heard, he could still walk.

"Alright, that's all of us sir." Pepper nodded as he started to speak.

"Star Fox, the UEC has launched a full scale invasion of the planet Sauria. The local Dinosaurs have been forced to pull out and the meager garrison we sent after the first incursion is being swarmed under. They need…" his voice was cut off by a coughing fit. "Ahem, they need assistance. I want the Star Fox team to support them." another coughing bout broke out, lasting longer than the first. "The main operating base for the CDF is the Krazoa palace, and what remains of the local combat forces have also retreated there. There are a few isolated FOB's around the planet, but I can't tell you exact status on them. Best speed Star Fox. Pepper out." His image disappeared as the bridge fell silent.

"Will!" Peppy gestured at him, like he was trying to get him to do something.

"Oh, um, Rob, set course to Sauria, put as much power as you can risk into the jump drives. I don't care if we have to repair hull plates. Everyone else, get ground kits ready and inside whatever storage compartments you can use. Have Slippy move what weapons and equipment that's in the armory to the Freighter. Be ready for anything." He spun to face Saber, speaking just loud enough for Mira and Saber to hear over the commotion. "Saber, I want you to get what training you can in Fox's Arwing. Krystal will be your wingman, and you two will hang back on over watch. Only engage if it's necessary." He nodded and trotted out with the others. Mira trotted over to him, speaking quickly.

"Do you really think we will be doing ground operations?" he nodded as he responded.

"Yes. Sauria has some funky energies floating around its skies. Flying is really tricky there. There may be days that the troops need support that energy storms are too active to fly. I want you to keep my pilot rig from now on. Okay?" she nodded as the two of them set out for their room.

"Okay. Will, you're going to do fine as our leader. Okay?" He stopped and faced her, obviously confused.

"What brought that up Mira?" she smirked as she shuffled her feet.

"Because I know you think you won't be. But I know you will." She smiled in the most reassuring way she could. He hugged her, so unexpectedly that she almost didn't hug back.

"Thank you Mira. Just promise me that anything I tell you to do, you do it. No matter what it is." Mira looked at him as he let go, confused.

"Don't I already have too?" he smiled gently, but somehow seeming sad.

"I'm not asking as your leader, or your wing man. I'm asking as your friend. And even if I tell you to abandon me, do it. Okay?" she nodded, trying to find why he was suddenly saying this from his expression.

"Yeah, I will. I promise. Is something up?" he shook his head and stalked off down the corridor. Peppy's voice blared through the intercom before she could move.

"All personnel, we will be arriving at Sauria in less than six hours. Get your gear prepped now!" she sighed and ran through halls. She slid to a stop in their room, sliding the pilot rig on as Will packed his bag. She watched for a second as magazines and rations were dropped in before he started packing one of his duffel bags with more ammo and explosives. They both finished packing almost simultaneously. Hawkins strapped his armor on as Mira stood and stretched. She heard Hawkins rifle bolt cycle and she glanced at him. He was just making sure the weapon was empty. She shouldered her small assault pack of medical supplies as he grabbed his two bags.

"You know, the one thing us Cornerians seem to have going for us is equipment amount. We don't need anywhere near as much as you do." He smirked as he led the way out of the room.

"That may be so, but I don't see you being able to kill as much." He playfully punched her shoulder as they marched down to the hanger. She smirked at him before a small frown crossed her face.

"Damn it, how can we be so casual about killing people? We're monsters, aren't we?" Hawkins sighed as he stopped and faced her, just outside the elevators.

"No. just the fact that it bothers you, makes it clear that you aren't a monster." Her eyes fell to his feet as she responded.

"You don't seem bothered by killing." She finally looked back into his eyes. He was smiling, but she could see the sadness welling in his eyes.

"Trust me. I don't like killing. But, sometimes, it's kill or be killed." She nodded as they finally began moving again, stepping into the elevator and riding it down to the hanger. They marched out of it together and were about to split to their fighters for pre-flight checks when she stopped him.

"Will, I… just want to ask you to be careful, okay? Don't do anything reckless again, please?" he laughed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Meh, I'll be fine. I just about always pull off reckless. Just worry about yourself." She pulled back from him, leaving her hands resting on his waist. His own were still wrapped around the back of her neck. They were both smiling at each other, staring into each other's eyes. His cheeks suddenly turned red and he stepped back, rubbing the back of his head. She let her hands drop together, loosely clasped over her thighs. "Well, I should tune my fighter up. Remember to adjust your Hydrogen tanks. You want a little more mass to your shots when hitting ground targets." She nodded as she put her hands into her pockets, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

"I, yeah, alright I should go do that. Bye" he nodded as she turned toward her fighter and marched over to it, trying to look around without anyone noticing. Blood was still rushing to her cheeks as she glanced back at Will. A small smile spread at the corners of her mouth as he glanced at her, clearly still embarrassed.

* * *

Saber climbed into the Arwing and dropped into the seat. He searched the cockpit for the controls, only to find a single button and the basic flight controls. He pressed the button and a holographic display fired up. He smirked as he fired the engines up and slowly brought the weapons and other flight systems online. It was strange to be just placing ones fingers through light and still operating the systems, but He shrugged as he went through his preflight checks when his radio blared to life.

"Hey Saber, how's that Arwing for ya?" he smiled at the sound of the blue vixen's voice.

"Way more and advanced than fathers old AL-1. But it aint a bad thing. So how do these G-Diffusers work again?" she laughed as she responded.

"They control the fighters maneuvering. And if you press both pedals in at the same time, it will bring the fighter to a complete stop. Useful for shaking enemies." He absently nodded as Will's voice flooded the radio.

"Alright, one mike till we arrive above Sauria. Primary objective is to clear a path groundside, to that palace. The Great Fox will provide heavy fire support and blast any cruiser in our path. Slippy and Townsend will take the freighter and follow us with the equipment. Protect that ship." He cracked his knuckles and dropped his hands to the controls. The ship lurched and the bay door opened, revealing the darkened planet below. Fires were clearly burning down on the surface, and he could just barely make out the specs that were warships. Green and silver lances shot past each other, while small flashes showed destroyed fighters. The green bolts were clearly losing, and fast. Will's fighter rocketed out of the hold, the rest of the team following. "Great Fox, you are cleared to engage." He formed up on Krystal's wing, almost slamming into her fighter as he over corrected.

"You are really not good at this, are you?" he glanced at Krystal's fighter as he responded.

"I told you, my dad barely had a chance to teach me. I know the basics and that's about it." he watched as the battle drew closer. There were only two Cornerian cruisers up against at least five enemy battle groups, each consisting of three cruisers and six frigates per group. Fighters were swarming out of them toward the Cornerian ships.

"Looks like a mixed fleet, Chinese and Russian. Expect large numbers of light weight Fire Arrow drones and heavy weight Bear Cats. Don't let the size fool you, Bear cats are incredibly fast and maneuverable. Can almost match the tomcat for maneuvering" Saber gulped as they reached the violent battle, already having to maneuver around anti-fighter shots. A pair of bright green lances shot past, blasting one of the rectangular frigates into pieces. Saber fired his cannons as a pair of small triangular craft passed in front of him, blasting one apart.

"Good shot Saber!" he smirked as they continued to duck and weave through the fight. They raced past a Cornerian frigate as it was blasted apart. Screams filled the air waves as old AL-4 bottlenose fighters raced past. Cornerian command had been pulling the outdated fighter back into service, mostly because most of them were still operational and in Cornerian possession. The CDF was almost beaten completely out of the war in the few short months since it had started. He let out a sigh of relief as flame rose past the nose of his fighter.

"This is the Star Fox team to Cornerian ground forces, requesting targets. And some local weather would be accepted too." He glanced at Wills fighter as they lowered deeper into the atmosphere.

"Star Fox! We need immediate support! The enemy is pressing on the palace, and I don't know how long till our positions fall!" the group changed course as they dropped to just above the tree line.

"Rodger that, we are in bound. Hold tight. Any energy storms around?" the voice came back as a lone mountain loomed before them, the peak was made up of a massive stone structure, at least fifteen stories tall and twice that in width. Explosions rocked the shallow slopes on the mount, clearly showing the CDF's defensive positions.

"Negative, marking areas with highest enemy threat level now!" Markers and red zones appeared on Saber's HUD as Will spoke.

"Saber, Krystal, go high and keep an eye out for enemy fighters, everyone else, spread out, and start nailing targets. Move out!" Saber pulled back on the control yoke, taking his fighter up and away from the fighting.

* * *

I juked my fighter through the thick swaths of anti-air fire being thrown into the sky. I lined up on a pair of light weight hover tanks and squeezed the trigger, not getting to see them explode as I raced by.

"Will! We have inbound bogeys! Bearing, seventy two degrees! Gotta be Razors Edge again!" Krystal's voice was alarmed as I veered away from the ground battle.

"Alright, all craft, engage Razors Edge away from the enemy A-A, don't need to be dodging both!" the enemy squadron broke apart on my radar, four of the fighters flying low and fast, straight for the temple, the others splitting up to go after individual members of the Star Fox team. I locked missiles onto the four ground attack fighters and fired, watching the four rounds detonate harmlessly against their shields. The fighter that was angling in on me lined up for a head to head pass as I did the same. Blue bolts ripped past my fighter as I ducked and weaved, firing my own blue bolts back. Our fighters moved almost as one, rolling onto our sides and pitching down slightly to avoid slamming into each other, neither one of us scoring a hit. Time slowed down as our fighters passed each other, and I managed to make out a stylized name beneath the canopy. _Twilights Fire._ I shook my head, feeling like I was imagining things as I aggressively looped around toward him.

"Holy shit, Will Hawkins. Never really thought I'd see you flying again." I smirked as I was forced to dodge and juke, the faster fighter easily slipping onto my tail.

"Kyle Strumfist. Well, I guess I'll be kicking your ass yet again, little bro!" I suddenly rammed my collective up and right back down, followed by a sudden roll and pitch. His blue plasma shots kept flashing harmlessly past.

"First, I'm older than you, kid, second, I have a better fighter, and third, you were teaching me back then, now, I'm going to school you." He stayed glued to my tail as I randomly manipulated the controls, constantly changing the thrust, smacking the rudder pedals, changing the collective, and jiggling the control yoke. My random maneuvers were easily dodging almost every bolt he fired. I smirked as I responded, already planning my next move.

"Oh really? You aren't the only one to have learned new tricks!" I suddenly rolled level and pitched up, slamming the throttle to the max. Before he could line up on my near vertical climb, I killed the thrust. My speed reached zero and I pitched up again, making my fighter keel over backwards just as his shot past. Before he could react to the sudden stall, I had pitched all the way back to vertical and slammed the throttle forward, my last two missiles leaping away from my fighter.

"You slippery little…" the rest of his statement was cut off as both missiles detonated, disabling his shields. Blue plasma bolts followed, tearing the G-diffusers off his fighter.

"In case you don't remember, you always had a better fighter, and yet, I still always won." His fighter crashed into the forest below before he responded.

"Damn it Will! I'm going to get you for this you sneaky little bastard!" I grinned as my attention went back to the radar screen.

"Hey Mira, Status?" the fighter she had been dogfighting was retreating, emitting random energy flares.

"Fighters fine, but my cannons seem to have run out of hydrogen." I banked back toward the others as I responded.

"Alright, pull back for now. Not much use unarmed." She laughed as two of the four fighters that tried attack the CDF ground troops looped back toward my fighter.

"I may be unarmed, but I make a good lure. I'm going to go help Saber." I smirked as the distance closed between me and the two Raptors. A new voice rang out over the radio, his thick Russian accent all too familiar to me.

"We meet again, Hawkins. Time for me to put you down as the dog you are!" I grinned as I dropped under them and suddenly veered upward, slipping onto one's tail while the other followed. A handful of well-placed blasts and the craft tumbled out of sight. The Russians bolts ripped past as I juked and dived. He easily followed me further and further away from the main battle, staying locked tight on my tail.

"I expected more of a fight from you. Tsk tsk." I grinned as I rolled into a canyon, using my collective to make much sharper turns at high velocities.

"Yeah try this on dumb shit." I hollered as my fighter roared through the tight winding canyon. Blue plasma bolts started raining into the canyon, blasting rock apart and filling the air with dust.

"Do you really think I would be dumb enough to follow you down there, when I can follow from above and still kill you?" I cursed into the radio as I paid more attention to my sensors than my clouded sight.

"Just hang on Will, I'm coming!" I glanced at my radar as the canyon widened. Mira was shooting straight toward them.

"Mira! Stay back! You don't have any weapons!" she laughed over the radio as I pulled out of the canyon, able to see her fighter fast approaching in front of me.

"I won't need 'em." And before I could respond, she slammed her fighter into the Raptor, causing both craft to spin wildly out of control. My heart leapt into my throat as both craft finally regained control.

"Damn you to hell, alien bitch! Razor's Edge, pull out!" his fighter limped away as smoke billowed from Mira's engines. The craft swayed and dipped dangerously as I shouted into my radio.

"Damn it Mira! What the hell were you thinking!?" another laugh echoed through the radio as she responded.

"Just being reckless. I learned from the best you know." I pulled my fighter even with hers as we angled toward the palace.

"If you ever do shit like that again, I will personally shoot your ass. Leave the reckless shit to me, okay? Damn near gave me a heart attack." She looked at me, smiling across the gap.

"I'm fine. Really. Ow!" sparks filled her cockpit for a second before she continued. "But this fighter on the other hand. Well, I think I cracked the fuel lines, losing engine power. I won't make it back to the palace." I sighed as I followed her.

"Then find the first clearing you can safely land in, and I'll pull you out, maybe get that bolt bucket flying again." She gave me a thumbs up as she lowered toward the ground.

* * *

Kyle kicked the side of his fuselage, cursing. He had spent hours just painting the name, '_Twilights Fire_' onto the hull. A faint smile crossed his face as memories of the squadron commander yelling at him to speed it up, just a few hours prior. He plopped down onto the dirt his fighter had plowed up, trying to relax a little as he waited to be picked up. A voice made him jump to his feet as it filled the clearing.

"Toss your pistol, disable all radios, and sit your ass back down for a little chat." He grinned as Will slipped into the clearing, his rifle pointed at Kyle's chest.

"You really gonna shoot me?" he chuckled as the rifle lowered and he leaned up against a tree.

"What? Shoot my best childhood friend? Nah. Shoot him down sure, but shoot him, never." Kyle laughed with him as he sat back down.

"Well glad I can still trust you." He stayed leaned up against the tree as he pulled his infantry helmet off.

"How have you been? Haven't see you since high school." Kyle grinned as he stared up at the blue sky, brushing his fairly long brown hair away from his eyes.

"Nothing much, after you ran off for the Rangers with Amanda, I joined the navy as a flight mechanic. Worked my way up to pilot within two years. And right before this damn war, got myself engaged." Wills jaw dropped slightly in shock.

"Seriously? You and Zierra finally hit it off?" he laughed fighting it down, enough to speak.

"Aw hell no, we broke up after I signed up. She didn't want me going military. Me and Ashley." Ashley had been a friend of theirs since the beginning of high school.

"Damn, well, I always thought you two should hook up. Guess I knew her well enough to know she liked ya." His smile faded slightly as he responded.

"I actually asked her out at Amanda's funeral." Silence suddenly filled the air between them, making Kyle feel more and more nervous. "Will, why weren't you there? You two had been dating for years, you served with her, and yet you couldn't be bothered to be at her funeral?" he sighed, and just one glance told Kyle that it was a touchy subject for him.

"My actions got her killed Kyle. I was medically discharged before they could even get her body back to earth, dumped me on the streets of Mars. I hoped the first merchant ship to Corneria after that. I… I couldn't bring myself to be there. How can you show up to someone's funeral who you killed?" silence stretched between them again, and Kyle was very quiet when he finally responded.

"I guess I would have had a hard time too. Is that why you are fighting for the CDF? Or does it have to do with an alien love bite?" Will raised an eyebrow at him looking utterly bewildered.

"Alien love bite? What the fuck are you talking about?" he chuckled slightly as he responded.

"That gal, Mira, or whatever. Sounded like you really care about her." His expression remained the same as a small smile spread across Kyle's face.

"What?! No! Wait, I mean, she is my wingman, I care about her yeah, but no, not like that!" he smirked as his radio buzzed to life.

"Strumfist, we are almost to your beacon, E.T.A. one mike, out." Kyle cursed and leapt to his feet.

"Go! Before they get here!" he needed no second invitation, and was already sprinting through the trees. He was long gone as the transport arrived, its exhaust filling the clearing.

* * *

Mira cursed as she kicked the side of her fighter.

"Damn it, why the hell did I do that?" she jumped as a twig broke behind her, leveling her blaster on the helmetless figure.

"Damn, and I thought I had anger issues." She glared at Will as he stepped through trees and started pulling panels off her fighter.

"Alright, so, think you can get it flying again?" he held up a finger as he opened up another panel over one of the G-Diffusers. He sighed as he pulled damaged parts out.

"Don't pull any heavy maneuvers. You won't have any inertial dampening. And your engines are running, but you lost most of your fuel, so don't use the after burners. Slow and steady all the way there, I'll cover okay?" she nodded as he bypassed more systems than she could count, jury rigging the fighter into operation. He sighed as he finally replaced the last of the panels, wiping sweat from his forehead. "There you go." She smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks, jack ass." She playfully punched his shoulder plate.

"Well I guess I'll see you in a bit." He trotted off into the forest as she dropped into her cockpit. After a few minutes, his fighter was hovering above her. She fired her craft up and gently lifted into the air, feeling every lurch and shift of the fighter. "Remember gentle acceleration, don't want to knock yourself out now do we?" she chuckled as she gently accelerated, flying just above the tree line. The sun was setting off her port wing and she watched it as their fighters drifted along.

"This is quite beautiful, you know." She heard him grunt as she glanced at him.

"Yeah I guess." She smiled as she responded, still staring at his canopy.

"You guess? Come on, look at that view, and tell me that isn't beautiful." She could see him shift in his cockpit.

"Hmm. It's not bad, but I see a better view on a daily basis." She raised an eyebrow at him, about to respond when he was suddenly shouting. "Mira! Run! We have in bound enemy fighters! I'll deal with them, just get the hell out of here!" she glanced down at her radar, seeing the two full squadrons of large fighters bearing down on them. His fighter peeled away from her, boosting up to full throttle. She watched in horror as all twenty four ships closed in on him. She could see the specs that were their fighters off her starboard wing. Blue and red plasma bolts lanced past each other as he twisted and juked through them, three of the heavy Bearcats detonating in seconds.

"Will! What are you doing! Get out of there!" she heard him groan from strain before he responded, his fighter pulling extremely complex maneuvers.

"Mira, remember what I told you about following any order I give. Run! As fast as that ship will carry you, and do not look back!" fear crept into her heart as he killed two more of the enemy craft. She was having to pitch up now as she reached the base of the mountain. A flash came from the distant dogfight, as well as the plasma fire ceasing. Will's fighter dropped into the trees, trailing smoke and flames. An explosion ripped out of the woods as Mira screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Will! Damn it Will! What the hell were you thinking!" she guided her crippled fighter to the area being used as a make shift landing pad, her fighter clunking to the ground.

* * *

Bill rushed toward Mira's fighter as it slammed onto the hard stone floor, its thrusters sputtering she leapt out, tears streaming down her face.

"Mira! Where's Hawkins?" She shook her head, sliding to the floor.

"We were ambushed. He held them away from me and… and he… he got shot down! I.. don't think he made it Bill!" Bill's heart sank as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, we'll find him. He's survived worse." Billed keyed his radio up before he continued. "Krystal! Get Falco and Lucy down here, we need to launch an emergency C-SAR!" Mira looked up from her hands as she continued to cry.

"Bill, his fighter exploded! Unless he is tougher than steel, he's dead." Bill stood as Krystal responded.

"Bill we can't! The enemy just launched another large scale offensive, they need us flying air cover!" Bill cursed and slammed his fist into the hull of Mira's fighter.

"Mira, stay here, help Slippy repair your fighter." She nodded and wiped away her tears. "Everyone else, mount up!" he stalked away, easily climbing into his interceptor. The others were still trickling into the area as he powered his fighter on and lifted it into the air. Rain drops started splattering on his canopy and he cursed yet again. Rain was going to make it difficult to see and fight, giving the enemy ground more of a chance to nail one of them. Bill angled his fighter downwards, aiming at a group of heavy weight, treaded tanks that were advancing up the hill. His rotary plasma canon fired, tearing a few of the tanks apart. Arwing interceptors were equipped with a single rotary plasma cannon, nestled between the prongs of the nose, a seeking 'charge laser' and two missile banks where the cannons usually were on the normal Arwings.

"Going to try and take on the whole UEC by yourself now bill?" Krystal's Arwing shot past him as he lined up another strafing run, a trail of destruction in her wake. Bill smirked as he charged his charge laser and fired it, watching the bright green ball of plasma lance out and slam into an infantry unit. He was gone and past before the results could be seen. A warning alarm in his cockpit went off as a missile was fired at him. He juked and release chaff, trying to confuse the missile. It went after a piece of chaff and detonated as Bill looped back around, firing a missile into the launcher. It detonated in a ball of fire as Lucy spoke over the radio.

"We got inbound fighters! Looks like a squadron and a half of those Bearcat fighters." Bill glanced at his radar, then squinted through the thick rain at the specs in the distance.

"Damn it, Lucy, we'll deal with those fighters. Just keep them off the others." She acknowledged as he set his missile banks to ripple fire all fifteen of his remaining missiles, locking each missile onto a different target. He waited for a solid lock tone, then depressed the button on the side of his control yoke. His craft vibrated as all fifteen missile leapt away from him, heading for individual fighters. Thirteen more joined them as Lucy fire her own missiles. Nine of the craft disappeared under the salvo, a few of the others pulling away, severely damaged. The missile barrage left the remaining fighters disoriented as the formation shot past Bill and Lucy. He arced his fighter around, firing a charge laser into one of the craft, watching it disappear in a ball of fire. Lucy's fighter shot past his nose, her rotary cannon tearing into one of the other Bearcats. He banked onto the tail of one of the others, firing his own cannon at it. Green lances tore into the ship, tearing the unshielded craft into ribbons.

"Hey, looks like those fighters are all bugging out. Back to strafing?" Bill smirked as he guided his fighter back toward the enemy lines.

"Might as well." As he was heading back, he noticed a pair of tanks detonate from ground fired missiles, but these tanks were near the rear of the enemy formation, not the front. He slowed his fighter and gently banked around, watching as another white streak lanced out, blasting another tank apart. Rifle shots started arcing down on the missile position, just before silvery bolts started ripping away from the position, way too fast to be a rifle. Bill swooped down, firing his cannon into the advancing infantry as his radio suddenly lit up.

"Hey, glad you guys finally noticed! My radio is busted, and my helmet comms are short range only, couldn't reach you guys!" Bill grinned at the sound of Will's voice.


	15. Chapter 15: Life and Death

I juked and rolled my fighter, trying to dodge the enemy fire. Plasma rounds ripped into my fighter's hull and a warning alarm went off, just before my controls went dead. I cursed and grabbed the yellow and black handle on the front of my seat and yanked. Explosive bolts blew the canopy off and my whole seat ripped away from the craft as it started to tumble downward. An old fashioned parachute deployed from the back of my seat, followed by me being jerked against the seats harness as the chute filled.

"Son of a… why am I always getting screwed like this?" The howling wind was my only response as I watched my fighter slam into the trees, detonating on impact. The enemy fighters peeled away, headed toward whatever landing zone they had launched from. My seat crashed through the trees until the chute got caught on the branches, leaving me dangling meters off the ground. I cursed again as I yanked my rifle from the clamp I installed for it and released the harness. Pain shot through my legs as I crumpled into a heap below the ejection seat.

"Mira, Bill, Great Fox, anyone, please respond?" my radio didn't even make any noise at all as I keyed it up. I cursed yet again before switching to the comm gear inside my helmet. The familiar crackling sound filled my earpiece and I stood, jogging away from my landing site. Voices drew my attention and I dropped to the ground.

"They really shot one of them Star Fox guys down? Damn." A second, rougher voice joined the first.

"Yeah, they say he bailed out. Should've landed 'round here somewhere." A third voice followed, speaking in a language I didn't know, and didn't seem to be on my universal translator. The other two laughed as the second man spoke again.

"Hey would you look at that. Got himself hooked on a tree. Hey Char, get tracking, I'll radio the rest of the fire team." The unfamiliar language spoke, footsteps growing closer to my position. I peeked up, seeing the U.S. Special forces soldiers, each wearing their thick battle armor. I slipped a grenade out of its pouch, activated it, and chucked it toward them. The grenade landed at the feet of the tracker and detonated, blasting all three soldiers onto their asses. I took off running, sprinting away from the enemy soldiers. My hand moved on its own, grabbing the small drone in a pouch on the back of my belt and turning it on. The drone rose high above me, a thermal scan highlighting the enemy troops on my HUD. Another three man group was ahead and to the right of me, forcing me to veer left in my wild sprint through the trees. I narrowly managed to leap across a small gully, nearly smacking into a tree as I landed. More troops joined the first group, until an entire twelve man fire team had grouped up to chase after me. I slid to a stop, waiting for the first one to come into direct sight. As soon as he did, I opened fire, watching the silvery bolts rip into his shields. The fifth and sixth round punched through his armor's chest plate, flattening him. I toke off running as one of them shouted.

"Man down! I need you over here Doc!" trees whipped past as I ran, ducking and weaving through them. The drone's threat counter suddenly started rising insanely fast as a mass of troops formed on my map in front of me. I cursed and slid under a group of downed logs, aiming my rifle back the way I came. Massive armored boots slid to a stop outside the log pile I had hid under.

"Damn it, where did that slippery bastard go?!" another pair stomped by as I fought to control my breath, keeping it as deep and slow as possible.

"Well, if he kept running that way, he's dead. Main force is camped just up ahead. If only he hadn't shot Char, this would be a friggan cake walk!" the logs above me creaked and moaned as one of the half ton soldiers marched over the log pile. I hoped the logs wouldn't snap as a second moved over.

"How is Char?" the first soldier was speaking again. I glanced at the read out on my HUD that displayed the number of rounds remaining in my weapon. Twenty two is what the cyan numbers showed.

"Banged up pretty bad. Rounds ripped right through his armor. Had to be a UEC rifle loaded with tungsten shells. Nothing else a pilot could carry could do that." One of them cursed as I brought up the drone's view on my HUD. Ten of the twelve soldiers that had been chasing me were all around my position.

"Alright, we need to get back to the fight. Main assault is launching soon. Get your asses moving!" the troops trotted away and I waited for them to be long gone before I crawled out of the log. I followed the path they had taken, my weapon raised and ready to fight as the sun dipped below the horizon. I came up on a small ridge overlooking a cleared valley, filled with tents and equipment. I smirked as I slid down the ridge, right into a small supply depot. Two soldiers were laughing about something as I slipped my knife out and ducked between crates. I was barely a meter away from them when I dashed out from behind the crates, slamming my knife into the back of the first's neck. My feet brought me into a spin, yanking the knife out and allowing me to plunge it into the other man's spinal column before he could even think to react. I grimaced as the two of them slumped to the ground, either dead already or dying. There were weapons all around me and I gathered as many anti-tank launchers as I could before setting up a rotary cannon, overlooking most of the camp. Rain was falling in thick sheets by the time I had finished. As soon as I was ready I grabbed a missile launcher, locked onto the first tank I saw, and fired.

* * *

"Hey guys, I found Hawkins! Just being his regular reckless self, taking on a whole battalion on his own! Krystal, see if you can swing by and give him a lift." Mira scrambled to her radio as she heard bill's voice emanating from it.

"You're shitting me right? Tell that asshole that I am going to beat his ass when he gets here!" She heard bill chuckle before he responded.

"Will do. Hey Will, Mira says you're an asshole. And that she is going to kick your ass when you get back." Relief swept over her as she leaned up against her fighter and slid to the ground. Her entire body was shaking as Krystal's voice came through the speakers next.

"Just stay close to the G-diffuser and you'll be fine. The field will keep you from being knocked off." Slippy moved over to her from the other side of the fighter a grin on his face.

"Well, that's a relief, eh?" Mira smiled and accepted his hand up. Both of them were pacing back and forth as they waited for the fighters to return. The locals had used thick patchy tarps to cover the landing area from storms, making it feel like they were in a massive hanger, rather than an open palace courtyard. Arwings started trickling in, some of them lightly damaged, until the one she was waiting for finally arrived. Will was standing on Krystal's starboard wing, one arm gripping the G-Diffuser for support. The craft lowered to the ground and hovered in standby mode. Will dropped off the wing of the craft, catching the wing with his hands and dropping to the ground. She rushed to him and pulled him into a hug.

"Damn it will, I am so going to shoot you one of these days!" he chuckled as he hugged her back.

"You really need to stop worrying about me so much. I always have some trick or another up my sleeve." She reared back and slapped him, both of them laughing afterwards.

"That is for scaring the crap out of me. Again." He grinned as bill trotted over from his interceptor, instantly speaking.

"Energy storms are moving in. We won't be able to fly until they pass. Word from the ground says that they still need help down there." Will nodded as he trotted over to the freighter, digging through the cargo until he found a crate he had filled.

"So we break out the land masters. Damn it, most of my Tungsten rounds were in my duffel." He grabbed a few bunches of magazines, replacing the rations in his assault pack with them.

"Can't you just raid enemy supplies?" he chuckled at Mira's statement and turned to face her.

"Yeah, but If I find tungsten rounds, then I need to start buying lottery tickets. Standard troops use depleted uranium rounds." The others slowly gathered around as he dropped a holo projector on the ground. "Alright, Saber, do you know how to pilot a Land Master." He nodded and Will continued. "Bill and Saber will drive the two Land Masters, Krystal, Lucy, take point and find them a safe path through here and around to the back of the enemy force." A green line tipped with an arrow traced through a group of canyons, coming around the back of the enemy force. "We will be targeting the enemy's supplies. Buy us some breathing room. I saw a whole bunch of supply depots along here, at least four. I'll send a drone to do a more thorough check. Bill, see what you can get in the way of infantry support, the more the merrier. Hooah?" they all stared at him, puzzled. "Hooah means anything but no, so unless you have a question, repeat it." they all echoed it before splitting off to find gear.

* * *

Fox jerked awake as the entire ship shook. His hand shot to his stomach as he looked around the medical bay. The ship shook again, violent enough that Fox rolled right off the bed.

"What the hell?" he staggered to his feet and opened the intercom, instantly speaking. "What the hell is going on out there?!" seconds ticked by before Peppy's voice responded.

"Sorry Fox, we're in the middle of a fleet action above Sauria! Damn it, brace!" the ship shook violently as Fox gripped the intercom's mount. "I'll get Townsend down there for you, Will is leading the team downstairs, trying to push the UEC off planet. Aw hell, Ash!" the ship shook violently as an alarm went off. The pilot's voice trickled into the intercom as the alarm ceased.

"Damn it, I'm sorry, minor armor damage, shields held most of the Rail round." He sighed as he dropped into a sitting position by one of the cots, gripping the edge of the bed for support. Townsend rushed in and helped Fox to his feet.

"Hey Townsend, take me to the bridge will ya? Wanna see what's up." Townsend scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I'd yell at you to sit your ass down if I didn't know I'd lose my job! Come on." he wrapped one of Fox's arms around his shoulder and supported him as they marched through the ship. The door to the bridge opened to reveal utter chaos outside the viewport and on the screens.

"Fox, What the bloody hell are you doing up here? Get back down to the med bay!" Fox smirked and waved him off as Townsend let him drop into his command seat.

"Don't worry about me Peppy, just bring me up to date." Fox had already brought the sensor readouts up on his small folding console, seeing the large numbers of UEC ships slowly encircling the allied fleet. "Ash, I'm marking a ship on the Battle map, think you can move us into a position to nail it?" the long nosed canine smirked as he punched commands into the ships controls. Rob now only flew the ship out of combat, a full on pilot flying during combat freed Rob to manage the majority of the cannons with inhuman accuracy.

"Aye, aye, Fox, consider it history." The view pitched up just before the ships ahead expanded. The pilot artfully rolled the ship around and pitched again as they crossed between a Cornerian and UEC cruiser, the salvos they were trading splashing on the Great Fox's shields. Return rounds from the 'Fox blew chunks out of the cruiser as they passed. The ship Fox had marked loomed in front of them. Human Cruisers ranged between one and two kilometers in length, making them considerable opponents due to size alone. But the ship in front of them was close to three kilometers in length, and looked as if it was trying to avoid direct contact. Fighters spilled from the ship in droves as they approached, almost four wings deploying from a single ship, marking it as a Carrier.

"Alright, targeting solution plotted and ready. On your command." Fox and Peppy spoke as one, their voices filling the bridge as the ship rocked again.

"FIRE!" the ship shook violently as two green lances shot out. The enemy shields held the entirety of the powerful blast, not even singeing the hull.

"Rob, use the point defense weapons on any fighter they send after us, engineering, I need _all_ available power rerouted to the main cannons now!" the enemy carrier loomed closer and closer before them as intercom calls acknowledged.

"Main Cannons over charged and ready sir!" Fox nodded as he spoke again, softly this time.

"Fire again right after the first shot, then swing our starboard Gun battery to bear on them. Tear that ship apart." The ship vibrated as a high pitched wail ripped through the hull. Bright silver light filled the viewport as two lances shot clean through the carrier, glancing a frigate beyond. Both the frigate and the carrier spilt apart at the impact sight, but amazingly enough, the carrier was still firing at them. The silver light faded as another green blast ripped into the ship, blowing a large chunk out of the hull. Ash neatly pitched and rolled the Great Fox, almost as if he was flying a fighter. Fox brought up a starboard camera feed as green lances shot away from the 'Fox, ripping hull plates and turrets apart on what remained of the carrier. Orange cracks appeared on the ship just before it blew apart in a blazing fire storm. Fox smirked as the helmsmen brought the ship back around to retreat into Cornerian held space.

"Wait Fox, check your sensors, most of the enemy fighters have stopped fighting, just flying off in whatever direction they had been!" Fox glanced at his screen as Peppy spoke, confirming what he said.

"Will mentioned some of the UEC uses drones. Maybe destroying that ship severed their connection to the UEC battle net, and now they don't have target data." Peppy stroked his chin thoughtfully as cheers erupted from the communications systems. UEC fleet ships were pulling away, likely to regroup for a second attack, but that meant rest for the weary pilots and crews in the Cornerian fleet.

"Good work Fox. Now, Townsend, haul his ass back down to medical!" Fox grimaced, but didn't fight as Townsend helped him to his feet.

* * *

Krystal stared down the cliff edge to the supply camp down below. They had already hit three of the camps, with only two minor injuries to members of the pathfinder platoon. She sighed as she walked back to Hawkins, where he was securing a pair of ropes in the trees. Sweat drenched her fur as she spoke.

"Do you really think this will work?" he stood at the sound of her voice, giving the second rope one final tug.

"Yeah, I think it will. Range finder says it's only a thirty meter drop, and these trees seem strong enough to hold our weight." She sighed as he spoke, adjusting her sub-machinegun.

"No, not this, going after the supply depots. At best, it will just slow the enemy down. Seems like just a delaying action to me." He smirked as he hooked brakes onto the ropes, letting them control their decent speed.

"Exactly. Each soldier only carries between eight and twenty magazines. So once those run out, they can't fire. So yes, this is a delaying action, but we delay them long enough, and the Great Fox should be able to provide orbital fire support." She rolled her eyes as she hooked one of the brakes onto her combat harness. He glanced down at his watch again as he spoke. "It's time. Get ready." She grabbed the coiled rope off the ground as he did the same. A few seconds passed before a pair of green blasts lanced out of the trees on either side. The massive plasma bolts blasted a pair of the enemy tanks apart. Almost as one, every pathfinder in the platoon opened fire, sending a rippling volley of plasma fire down, joined by Bill's chain gun and Falco's sniper rifle. She tossed her rope off the cliff and jumped after it, gently squeezing the break until she was a few feet from the ground. She unclipped her harness as Will landed next to her, weapon raised and firing on a pair of UEC soldiers. He somehow had already unclipped from the brake. She rushed after him and raised her SMG, firing a controlled burst into one of the UEC troops. The large solid slugs knocked the soldier on his ass, one of the rounds hitting his exposed face.

"Will, cover me! I'm going to lay some charges!" he nodded and she heard his rifle start firing. Screams filled the air as the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air. She tried to focus on planting the bomb in front of her, but her mind was filled with pain and agony from the soldiers around her, so close that she couldn't block them out. She finally finished and patted Will's shoulder. He nodded and toke off, sprinting across an open space in seconds, even with his heavy armor. She sprinted after him, feeling a plasma bolt singe the fur on her arm. They slid to a stop and she covered him while he planted his own charges. They were all linked to a detonator on her belt. UEC troops began swarming from the supply bunkers, in too high of number for the bunkers to be filled with supplies.

"Um, Will…." she glanced at him scared by the focused expression on his face. Bolt after bolt leapt away from his rifle, cutting human soldiers down at an alarming rate. They sprinted to a new location and dropped behind a sand bag wall. Plasma bolts heated the already hot air to the point that she felt like she needed a heat suit. She dropped to reload and saw his rifle drop onto its sling, his pistol ripping out of its holster and firing all eight rounds so rapidly that before she could finish reloading, he was already doing the same.

"Krystal detonate the charges." She stared at him, stunned for a second.

"Wh-What?" he yanked the detonator off her waist and depressed the trigger. She was tackled to the ground as a deafening blast filled her ears, only silence following.

* * *

Mira felt fear grip her heart as the entire valley below exploded. Before she knew what she was doing, she was grabbing one of the ropes and sliding down it, ripping skin and fur off her bare hands as she did so. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she took off running, headed straight for where she last saw them. The sand bags had been blown over by the blast and she carefully ran around them, seeing Will buried beneath them, one of Krystal's legs sticking out from under him. She quickly started pulling the sand bags off as she shouted.

"Will! Will, can you hear me!" she heard a moan as he shifted, sitting up completely on his own.

"I'm Fine! Check Krystal!" his voice was much louder than it needed to be as he helped Mira pull Krystal out from under the sand bags. She did a quick manual check of her vitals, easily finding a pulse. Another moan issued from her as she finally stirred awake. Mira breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out a bio scanner. There were shouts all around her as the human fighters surrendered. Although her vitals were erratic, Krystal seemed to be fine. She did a quick check on Will, finding the same but less erratic results. As soon as she finished, she threw her arms around Will.

"Damn it Will, quit scaring me like this!" she felt one of his arms go around her, knowing the other was supporting his torso. She suddenly found herself wishing that they weren't wearing armor, or clothing for that matter, and she instantly let go, blushing. "Um, here." She held her hand out for him and he accepted it, letting her pull him to his feet. He helped Krystal back to her feet as Mira's radio lit up.

"Great Fox to ground team, do you copy?" she was silent for a second, expecting Will to answer as the rest of the unit moved down into the valley. She finally spoke up after a few seconds.

"Um, Will, ya gonna answer Peppy?" he glanced back at her, clearly confused.

"Mira, my long range radio is busted, or did you forget that?" she cursed and smacked her forehead. It toke her a few seconds to set the signal to bounce through her radio to his short range, but she managed to do it as peppy spoke again.

"Is anyone listening down there? Will, Falco, Bill, anyone?" Will keyed up his own radio as he spoke.

"Loud and clear. Sorry, my long range is out. Things going well up there?" it took a few seconds for them to respond.

"Roger that, we got a window to provide Orbital fire support. Just give us some coordinates and we'll bring the rain." He typed a few keys on his wrist pad, undoubtable setting targets.

"Sending now. Primaries are all supply depots, secondaries are massed enemy forces. Danger Close. How copy?" he had stopped as a few of the others started to gather around, including the pathfinder lieutenant.

"Solid copy Will. Rain in thirty seconds." He was instantly speaking, his voice going over the short range.

"Get back from the POW's and into stable positions, heavy rain coming in, danger close!" she watched him drop onto his stomach, bracing against the fallen sand bags. Mira didn't follow suite in time, as massive green lances rained from the sky, shaking the ground with enough force that one would think there was an earth quake going on. Each shot was followed by a resounding boom, loud enough that her ears were ringing. When it stopped, it felt like the temperature had risen at least thirty degrees, taking the already hot air and making it burn. "Alright, L-T, status?" she staggered back to her feet as he spoke again. He glanced back at the troops behind them, watching as they rounded up the POW's, disarming them.

"Five casualties, one KIA. At least forty prisoners, mostly wounded." He nodded glancing around them.

"Signal for transport, ground, air, whatever they can get us, scrounge whatever weapons and equipment survived the bombs, equip our guys with UEC rifles and ammo. That will give us a little bit of an edge. Move." He nodded and rushed off as Mira spoke.

"I want to go see to the wounded. The human wounded." He didn't even glance at her as he waved her off toward them.

"Then go see to them, the rest of you, set a perimeter and keep an eye out for a counter attack." She trotted off toward them, unslinging her assault pack and grabbing the scanner back off the belt. She noticed a human with the human wounded that was trying to use pieces of torn uniforms as bandages. He looked up as she approached.

"Whoa, hey I'm just trying to help this men. You animals took my medical supplies away!" he had put his hands up and she smirked.

"Then that makes two of us." She dug out the two spare power packs, one for her pistol, the other for her rifle, and tossed them and her weapons a few feet away before unloading her pack. "I'm not much of a medic. Just started with it, so I'd appreciate your help." He was stunned for a second as she started scanning the first guy.

"I… your helping us?" she nodded and heard a shout behind her. One of the Pathfinders was marching over to her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, get away from them!" she glared at him, instantly speaking.

"Believe it or not, but these are people too, so if I can help them, even if it's just making them more comfortable when they pass, I'm going to do so. You got a problem with that, take it up with Will. And while you're at it, get me all of the UEC medical supplies you can find. These men are going to need it." she turned back to the wounded man before her, pulling the filthy uniform piece off the plasma burn. She fought down the urge to puke as she cleaned charred flesh and dirt out and wrapped a clean bandage around it. Meanwhile, the medic dug through her medicine and filled two syringes. "What's that?" he glanced at her and smirked.

"Anti-biotic and pain meds. The amount of dirt on that fabric could be carrying millions of alien bacteria and I'd rather not let him get an infection." She nodded as he injected the man, his breathing slowing down and his muscles releasing. Before she could step off to the next one, the wounded man grabbed her wrist, staring straight into her eyes.

"Thank you miss, whoever you are." She smiled and gently set his hand back on his chest.

"What is your name, so I don't just call you 'Cornerian'." She let a small laugh escape her mouth as she shifted her equipment over.

"Mira Marshall. And technically speaking, I don't even have any Cornerian in me. Calling all of us that is just a human thing. What about you?" the next man had shrapnel wounds all across his right side, and she waited for the medic to dose out pain meds before gently removing each, placing adhesive anti-bacterial patches over each of them.

"Thomas Flint. But just call me Flint." She smiled to him as they moved on again.

* * *

Flint glanced around as he sat down for the first time in hours. The few POW's that were uninjured were searching the rubble for bodies, an ever growing line of body bags being laid out in one of the few cleared areas. Mira and himself had done all they could for the human wounded, and although she clearly was in experienced, she had a fair amount of knowledge and a very light touch. Any soldier she happened to be working on became very calm, as if something about her told them that she was going to do her best to help. He glanced at her, seeing her wince as she sat down with him.

"Something hurtin?" she nodded, gingerly pouring water over her hands, one at a time. He suddenly noticed that her hands looked like someone had run a cheese grater across them a few times. "Wait, have you been bleeding all over those guys?" she shook her head as she finally spoke.

"No, they were just burns. They started cracking open while I was working on the injured pathfinders, had to throw some gloves on." she winced again as she tried to wipe them off with anti-bacterial wipe. He was about to speak up when a new voice spoke, coming from what looked like a UEC soldier wearing a pure grey uniform, and still armed.

"What happened to your hands Mira!?" he slipped over to her, taking the wipe away and gently rubbing as much filth away as possible.

"I burned them coming down the rope to look for you." He sighed as he dug through her satchel for something.

"Damn it, what happened to your burn cream?" she sighed as Flint dug into his own bag.

"Gone. Didn't think my hands were this bad. And I thought burn cream was meant for plasma burns?" Flint couldn't see what the man did, but he could hear him sigh. He found what he was looking for, speaking before either of them could.

"Burn cream is just a sealant laced with pain meds and natural coolants. It works on more than just burns, feels great on jellyfish stings and stuff like that. Here catch! Combat gel, same stuff, without the sedative." The soldier nodded to him as he wiped his bare fingers on the wipe and dipped them into the gel. "Oh, um, that stuff burns like hell when you put it on." Mira closed her eyes, her ears lying flat against her head as the soldier gently lathered it onto her hands. As soon as he was done, he toke a clean bandage and wrapped each hand as best he could, before pulling out a pair of fingered gloves.

"Here, these will sting your fingers a bit, but the anti-biotics in the gel will clear em out. These will keep anything new getting into your hands." She nodded and slipped the black gloves on, wincing as she did so.

"Thank you Will." He settled back and Flint finally got a good look at him. He was wearing U.S. body armor, and his rifle was an M-32. If he didn't know any better, he would have said the man was a UEC soldier. But the lack of the flag, unit patch, and rank insignia on his armor showed otherwise. His wrist had a Combat Tactical Pad on it, an item only issued to combat commanders.

"So why is a human mercenary working with Cornerians?" the man glared at him for a few seconds before he continued. "Um, Flint, by the way. And just wondering."

"I was with Star Fox before the war broke out. And I'm loyal to more than my paycheck. He nodded as Mira's name was called. She stood and trotted off to whoever had called her.

"Oh. Well, clearly you were military at one point. I'd say U.S., and an officer too." He nodded, his voice quiet when he responded.

"Lieutenant Hawkins, I-D number five-two-five-seven-three-six-two. Second battalion, One-oh-First A-I-D, delta company. Left over a year ago." Flint frowned knowing that exact unit.

"So you were a Ranger then." He looked up, instantly puzzled. "Second battalion of the One-oh-First Airborne is a Ranger unit. I know because my brother served with them. He died fighting on Ganymede, in Delta Company." Will seemed to be just staring at the dirt, unable to speak. They both jumped as someone shouted medic from amongst the rubble. They both scrambled to their feet, running over to the source. A soldier had been buried in concrete from one of the bunkers. His body was cleared off now, only to show dozens of injuries across his lower body, glistening white showing where bone had ripped through his skin. Some of the skin on his head had been torn off, showing the skull beneath. Amazingly, even in his condition, not only was he alive, but he was conscious, his entire body vibrating, his face contorting in pain.

"H-Hel-p-p" his chest armor must have prevented his chest from being crushed. Flint ran his scanner over him, seeing that most of the bones in his lower body were nothing but splinters and chunks. His left arm had been crushed, but most of his upper body was fine. Will grabbed his right hand, squeezing it gently.

"Hey, we're here, don't speak, you're going to be fine." He glanced up at Flint, who gently shook his head. There was nothing anyone could do for the man. Flint heard a sharp intake of breath behind him and glanced back to see Mira start to gag, running off a short way just before she doubled over, puking up whatever she had eaten that day.

"P-p-pain m-me-meds p-p-ple-ease." Will nodded to Flint as he dug through his bag to find the most powerful one he had.

"Hey, look at me. You are going to be just fine. You're going to go home, heal up, and live the rest of your days with your family. You are never going to have to pick up a rifle again. Just relax, we're going to help you." Flint loaded a lethal dose of pain meds in the injector, knowing that even a quarter of the amount would probably kill him in this state.

"I'm going to give you some meds now, they are going to make you sleep, so you don't feel the pain, okay?" the dying soldier nodded and he injected him.

"th-thank yo…" he watched as his body stopped convulsing and his breathing slowed until it stopped. His eyes were staring blankly up at the orange and red sky, no longer seeing the colors brought on by the sunset. Will gently closed his eyes and stood, walking a few feet away.

"God damnit!" he kicked a piece of rubble so hard that it flew almost thirty feet away from him. Flint felt tears begin to sting his eyes as he stood, the tears starting to stream out of his eyes as he did so.

"I hope my brother at least had it quick, nothing like this." He was startled when Will responded.

"He didn't corporal. It was quick for him." he stared at the back of Will's head as he took his helmet off. He could see the way his hands were shaking from here.

"How do you know that?" he was silent for several minutes before he spoke.

"Get him in a body bag, then go keep an eye on the wounded prisoners. Dropships will be here in the morning to take you to POW camps. You will be treated fairly, and all wounded healed to the best of the CDF's abilities." With that, he stalked off to where Mira was on all fours, still trying to fight back the urge to puke.


	16. Chapter 16: Dream Hopping

I pulled a small piece of bandage out of my med kit and poured some water on it before gently rubbing the bile off the edges of Mira's mouth. She was still shaking uncontrollably but she had at least managed to stop heaving.

"You okay Mira?" she didn't make any sign of responding as I cleaned the rest of the bile from the edge of her mouth. I offered her my canteen, and she poured a mouthful into her mouth, sloshing it about until she spit it onto the grass. Chunks of food and bile came out with it. She remained silent still, just staring off into the trees. I placed a hand on her shoulder, about to stand up when her quiet voice stopped me.

"We did that to him. The pain he was in… we did that." Tears started to flow out of her eyes as she spoke. I moved in front of her as I pulled her into a hug, feeling her entire body shake. "We… we are monsters, aren't we?" I instantly cut her off, holding her by the shoulders and forcing her to look me in the eye.

"We are not monsters Mira. We are Warriors. Warriors only kill to protect others. If I was pointing a weapon at Fox, or Krystal, or anyone else, would you shoot me?" she stared at me, utterly confused.

"I… no! I would never hurt you!" I sighed, closing my eyes as I tried to think of what to say.

"If it was the only way to stop me from killing them, would you shoot me?" she was silent for several seconds, the tears in her eyes multiplying.

"I… yes. I would." I pulled her back into a hug as I continued.

"Then you understand what happens on the battle field. During the heat of battle, your only goal is to protect the people you know, and if that means shooting someone you don't, you do it. Both sides think this way. But when the fighting stops, you realize, those people you were just shooting at, are just that, people. As a pilot, yes, you acknowledge that you kill people, but you seldom see what that entails. It is much easier to be a pilot, never seeing the face of your enemy, or what your weapons may do to him. Just don't ever let what you've seen today make you hesitate. Otherwise, someone you care about could very well die. Am I clear?" she didn't make any sign of responding, simply crying into my shoulder for several minutes.

"Thank you Will. For being here. And I won't hesitate, not because I don't want my friends to die, but to end this war. So that everyone can go home, not just my friends." I nodded to her and offered her a hand up. She accepted it and we walked over to where the pathfinders had set up tents for the night. I stopped her outside hers, knowing Krystal had likely set it up for her.

"Mira, how are you doing? And I'm not meaning about this." I gestured to the pile of rubble and rows of body bags in the distance. She sighed, unable to look at me.

"I still wish you hadn't stopped me from killing myself." Pain stabbed through my heart as she spoke, suddenly scared to leave her alone. "But, at the same time, I don't want to see you get hurt. I don't know why this whole suicide thing hurts you so much, but I don't need to be a telepath to see that it does. So why is it?" she finally looked at me, her hands on her hips and one of her 'I won't stop till you tell me' expressions already on her face.

"Because I nearly killed myself too. Dan found me as I was about to do it, same way you had tried, same gun, to the side of the head. Your brother, well he somehow had figured out what I had been planning and had been looking for me. When he found me, aiming a gun at the side of my own head, he grabbed it and tried to yank it away. The plasma bolt tore through his ear, took the upper half clean off." She watched me carefully as I spoke, her expression slowly softening.

"He saved your life?" her voice was very quiet when she responded. I nodded to her, feeling a single tear slip out. "There's more to that story, isn't there?" I nodded, kicking at the dirt under my boot.

"We started wrestling for the gun. I managed to knock him out, and pointed the gun at him. I was pulling the trigger when I realized what I was doing and I dropped the weapon and ran. Luckily for him, he had called winters before he confronted me. A few days later, the two of them hunted me down and dragged my ass back to our hanger. When we got there, they gave me a bottle of beer and my pistol. Dan never found out what I nearly did to him." I couldn't bear to look at her, trying to keep tears from coming out of my own eyes.

"Why did you almost shoot him?" I stayed silent, unwilling to say it to her. "Will, come on, you can tell me."

"Because I was angry at him for hurting himself, trying to stop me. And in my anger, I reacted how I was trained, violently!" She grabbed one of my hands, completely confusing me as she led me into the tent and forced me to sit down. "What are you doing Mira?"

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight. And I don't want you to be alone either." I didn't respond as she stripped out of her armor and combat rig. I double checked that my rifle and pistol were loaded before doing the same, and pulling one of the two blankets over myself. I made sure that I was facing away from her as the minutes passed by, her breath finally slowing as she drifted off to sleep. I nearly grabbed my rifle when her breath suddenly accelerated, jumbled words to quiet for the translator in my ear to understand. I heard enough of her voice to know that whatever dream she was having wasn't good. I sighed and rolled over, gently pulling her close.

"Shh, it's okay Mira. I'm here. it's just a nightmare." Her body slowly settled back into a more calm sleep and I couldn't help but smile, slowly drifting off to sleep myself.

* * *

Krystal finally sat down by a tree, digging her sub-machine gun barrel into the ground as she leaned on the stock, her head throbbing. It had been hurting since the explosions. Before she knew it, her eyes were drooping and she was slipping off into sleep.

_She found herself standing outside the door to Fox's cabin, her hand hesitating over the door. She took a deep breath before gently knocking. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Fox on the other side, his stomach bandaged and his eye had stitches under it._

_ "I Krystal? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she shuffled her feet, unsure herself as to what she was doing there. He grabbed her arm and led her in, letting her sit in the desk chair. "Krystal, is something wrong?" __**his voice seemed so real, his responses so natural, she couldn't know him this well.**_

_"Yes. I… Fox, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have broken up with you…" his response was instantaneous, and she expected him to be angry, but instead, he was very calm, even smiling. Her head was already dropping to her clasped hands._

_ "It's alright. All either of us have known is violence and destruction out entire lives. It's hard for us to accept something we truly care about into our lives, because we are afraid it will just be destroyed as well." She felt one of his hands grab both of hers, his other gently lifting her muzzle up and staring her in the eye. She could see the tears just waiting to spring up into his eyes. He gently stroked her cheek as they sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, with almost no warning, he leaned forward and kissed her, in such a way that he had only done a few times before. __**What the hell, this is a dream right?**_ _The thought drifted through her mind as she gently pushed him over to the bed._

_The dream suddenly changed, no longer was she in Fox's cabin, but she was running through the forest, a massive Red-Eye dinosaur chasing her. Red-Eyes were almost six meters tall, and almost thirteen long. Marching on two legs with short stubby arms, that would have been comical if it wasn't for the powerful jaws and extreme speed. She slowly came to realize that her body didn't quite feel right, as if she was someone else. Suddenly, as if a lightbulb had been turned on, she was no longer running from the dinosaur, but simply watching Mira run from the lumbering giant. She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, running as fast as she could._

_ "Mira! It's just a dream!" it was as if her shout hadn't even made a sound. Suddenly, Will burst out of the trees in full armor. His rifle was already firing, the silver bolts doing nothing to the monstrosity, which wasn't entirely accurate. Even her small pistol had enough heat to burn through a red-eye's scales._

_ "Mira! Run!" will's voice was not quite his, hints of it being Mira's just like any dream she had accidently wandered into before. __**But Fox's voice had sounded so real?**_ _She shrugged it off, her not even being to help but gasp as the monster snatched Will up, and in one nasty crunch, cast his mashed limp corpse aside. The creature stalked off as Mira ran to his side, sobbing._

_ "Will! No!" Krystal reached the corpse at the same time as Mira, surprised when he stood, not a mark on him. He wrapped his arms around her, his voice misty, but every bit sounding real._

_ "Shh, it's okay Mira. I'm here."_

Krystal suddenly jerked awake as her weapon clattered on some rocks beneath her. She sighed, still thinking of the dream she had before Mira's had cut it off, remembering how real it had felt. _Hmph, well, I guess all good things must come to an end._

* * *

Fox jerked awake and sat up, confused for a few seconds. He had awoken in the exact same position he had been in his dream, only, Krystal hadn't been on top of him. His mind drifted back to the dream, to her soft lips, her fur, all of it had felt so real. Even her voice had seemed to perfect to him. He nearly jumped when a faint voice echoed in the back of his mind. _Hmph, well, I guess all good things must come to an end._ He shrugged, figuring he probably wasn't fully awake. There was a knock on the door and he walked over, instantly answering it to find Townsend on the other side. He sighed, disappointment filling him.

"Hey, your vitals' spiked on my monitor, you okay?" he nodded as Townsend spoke, still groggy from sleep.

"Yeah. Was just an intense dream." Townsend was nodding too, already speaking again.

"Alright, get some sleep. By the way, Pepper is sending us to Katina. The rest of the crew should be back up in a few hours." Fox nodded and closed the door, trodding back into his bed and collapsing into it.

* * *

Krystal slung her towel over her shoulder and opened the door into the rec room, expecting it to be empty, given they had just gotten off of Sauria. She was surprised when she found Will inside, savagely beating on one of the punching bags. She didn't say anything, just watching until she realized he was still in his uniform from the ground, the top, armor, and weapons were all piled up against the wall. Almost as if this was the first place he came after coming back on board.

"Hey, something wrong Will." He glanced up at her, startled.

"No, I'm fine." As soon as he finished speaking, his attack on the punching bag started again, faster, and more vicious than before. The sand bag was practically stuck at a forty-five degree angle, when he suddenly side stepped, letting It swing forward before letting loose a snap kick. The old bag split open, spraying fine grain sand across the floor. "Damn it!"

"I think the punching bag disagrees with you. What's going on Will?" she placed a hand on his shoulder and he shoved it off, stepping around her and sitting up against the wall. He was sweating ferociously as he grabbed the water bladder off his armor and inhaled half the bladder.

"Nothing Krystal. Just go do whatever it was you came here to do." She sighed and dropped beside him, a gentle smile on her face.

"Well then, at least tell me how you did that." She pointed at the pile of sand beneath the ruptured bag as she spoke.

"All United States Military personnel go through light weight genetic enhancement. Reflexes, strength, speed, motor control, hearing, healing. It's all based off your MOS, so being a Special Operations soldier, I got the full board. Pilots typically just get the reflexes and motor control. We're not super soldiers or anything, all the procedure does is unlocks the potential in our genetics. So some people, it's ultra-effective for, others, not so much." She shivered slightly. Genetic experimentation was illegal in the Lylat system, due to Andross's work.

"So I'm guessing your one of the people it was ultra-effective on?" he shrugged, rubbing his arm.

"Sort of. Yeah, my reflexes and motor control are nuts, but they were nuts beforehand. I heal much faster than other humans, both enhanced and regular, as you may have noticed. I'm not as fast or strong as others, actually just kinda mediocre in those areas. Although, still am stronger and faster than the average human. The dermal enhancements are where I had the most improvements." She stared at him for a few seconds, clearly confused. "As in, Dermal Armor? My skin is tougher than a regular humans. More resistant to the cold, heat, abrasion. I also withstand radiation better, and you may have noticed how much less alcohol affects me, but that's actually the regenerative implant. The Dermal implants are actually being put out in the civilian world now."

"Ah. Alright Will, what's bothering you?" he glanced at her, feigning confusion.

"What do you mean? I'm fine?" she laughed, having been probing his mind the whole time.

"No you're not. Otherwise, you'd not be in here, beating the living shit out of a punching bag." He sighed as he stared at the floor.

"It's Mira." She was quiet, knowing he would continue when he was ready. "I… well, I'll admit, I like her, I, just, I'm scared." She raised an eyebrow at him, seeing the fear finally showing through.

"Because you think she's going to be killed, just like Amanda?" he froze, staring at her for a few seconds.

"How do you know that name? I… I've never told anyone that name." she chuckled as she responded.

"You really are thick sometimes. Razor's edge said it, Mira saw it on the dog tag when you left it on your desk one night. It wasn't hard to connect the dots. She was someone you loved. And I can't act like I understand, but you watched her die. It's reasonable to be afraid of that happening to Mira. I mean, this isn't exactly a safe line of work." His eyes fell away from her, remaining silent for several minutes before he spoke.

"That's part of it yes. There's something else too. I don't want to talk about it." his voice was very quiet, almost scarily so.

"You're afraid she wouldn't want you, aren't you?" he didn't respond and she continued. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I highly doubt that human friends cuddle." His face turned bright red as he responded.

"We were just sleeping together and she started crying! I… Fuck! that sounds worse, I mean, we were both sleeping in the same tent. She started having a nightmare and I just tried to comfort her, that's it! And no, I'm not afraid that she wouldn't want me, I… wait, that sounded egotistical, I, it's just something else!" she simply stared at him, about to start laughing.

"Well, Mira said you had a soft side. I was starting to think she was nuts." He glared at her smile, raising his fist with his middle finger extended.

"Ha ha, very funny Krystal." She let her grin widen, offering a hand up.

"Oh, you know it is, ya big softie. Now come on, little bit of sparring, and no holding back this time." He shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Only on one condition. You tell me what's bothering you?" she froze for a second before sighing.

"Alright, fine, but only if you ask Mira out on a date the next time we're at Corneria." He seemed to debate while he moved over to the mats.

"Alright, think you can dance and talk?" she nodded and they both assumed fighting positions. "Alright, this isn't a real fight, practice your swings and blocks, don't worry about speed or force right now." She nodded as he darted forward, doing a quick strike toward her chest. She easily deflected it, sending a pair of her own toward him. "Alright, so what's in that telepathic noggin of yours?" she sighed, lost in thought for a second. His fist hit her shoulder and she cursed.

"Damn it Will!" he shrugged as she paid attention to the fight, no longer worrying about what he would think.

"Alright, I had a dream last night. It felt so damn real, and so damn right." He swung and countered for a few seconds before he spoke.

"And?" she growled slightly, her strikes slowly gaining speed and power.

"And it was about Fox. I went and told him that I never should've broken up with him." he raised an eyebrow at her, about to speak as she launched a flurry of strikes, followed by a kick.

"Keep talking Krystal, I know that aint all."

"And he accepted it. said he understood and all that crap, said we were both just scared because we've had so much destruction in our lives, that having something good was hard to accept!" she no longer cared about how hard she was swinging, or how fast. But he was easily deflecting every blow.

"And do you think that's true?" she grunted as she swung as hard and fast as she could, her veins feeling like they were filled with liquid fire.

"Yes! I think that is true! Actually, I know it's true! It was a mistake ever breaking up with him! And I hate myself for being such a cold hearted bitch about it!" suddenly, she was face first on the mat, one armed torqued behind her, a knee pressed firmly into her back.

"So why are you down here, instead of talking to him?" she growled again before she spoke.

"Because I'm scared of what he'll say, Okay! Ya happy now!? I said it, I'm afraid of him! I'm afraid he hates me! I'm afraid I destroyed any chance at a relationship! And I'm afraid that if I say something to him, he'll just yell at me, or worse, not say anything!" her breath was coming in ragged gasps as she shouted at him. He gently let her up, re assuming a fighting position.

"I'll ask you one more time. Why are you down here, instead of talking to him?" she stared at him for a few seconds, before she dropped her guard.

"Because I'm afraid that he will forgive me. Because I don't believe I deserve it. I felt the pain I caused him, and I deserve to lose him forever because of It." her eyes dropped to the floor, all semblance of anger gone.

"Now there's the truth. Krystal, you try to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You care about others so much, you forget to care about yourself. And when you finally have something that cares for you, you don't know what to do with it. So you end up pushing it away. And then you realize that by doing so, you hurt them, and you hate yourself for it. if I'd have to guess, I'd say something similar happened when you left Cerinia." She nodded as he continued. "But, you have a chance to fix it, and even if it doesn't work, try." She nodded, letting herself process what he said for a few moments.

"I'm going to go talk to Fox, worse comes to worse, things won't change." He nodded as she moved for the door, stopping before she opened it. "You really know your way around a woman's heart, ya know?" he smirked as he moved to collect his gear.

"Yeah, maybe. It's my own damn heart I don't understand." She smirked and disappeared through the door, headed to Fox's cabin.

* * *

Fox jumped as someone knocked at his door. He slung himself out of bed and marched over, almost instantly opening the door. Mira was waiting on the other side, biting her lip.

"Alright, out with it Mira." He gestured her inside and she dropped into the office chair, still not having said anything. "Mira, come on, say something!" she jolted slightly at his shout before she sighed and let her head fall into her hands.

"Fox, I don't know what to do." He sat back down on the queen sized bed, raising an eyebrow at her. "It's about Will and Robert." His left his eyebrow raised even higher as she stood up and started pacing back and forth. "I… well, I really like Will. Hell, I love him, I just, I don't know. There is so much I still know don't about him, and I'm sure the feeling isn't mutual. And Robert, I know he will treat me well, he always did. And I feel horrible for breaking up with him when I did, and for why I did. And I promised him I would try to reconnect with him after this, but I feel so, attracted to Will, I don't know what to do!" Fox closed his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Just follow your heart Mira. It won't lead you wrong." She sighed as she collapsed back into the chair.

"That's the problem, I don't know what the hell my heart says! I mean, Robert could very easily be just as good as he used to be and Will could treat me like shit. At the same time, it could be flopped, or they will both treat me well!" Fox chuckled as he stood and gripped her bare shoulders.

"Mira, you're thinking with your head. Listen to your heart, it will guide you right." She sighed and nodded, clearly deep in thought. A knock at the door drew both of their attentions. Fox answered the door, shocked to find Krystal on the other side. "What the hell do you want Krystal." She startled back slightly.

"Um, what's Mira doing in here?" Fox glanced back at her and shrugged.

"So? Why do you suddenly care who's in my room?" he almost instantly wished he hadn't said that, seeing a flash of pain across her face before it was replaced with anger.

"Um, I was just here, asking for some advice, but I think I over stayed my welcome." Neither of them responded to Mira and she continued. "So, imma gonna go now…. Before someone, I don't know, explodes." She carefully wriggled past them, walking away as fast as she could.

"Alright, what do you want Krystal?" he crossed his arms, having no idea what else to say after his angry statement.

"Well, I _was_ going to see how you were doing, but clearly that was a stupid notion." She turned and stormed off after Mira. Fox cursed and sealed the door, falling onto his bed and wincing, his more serious injuries sending a jolt of pain through his body.

"Damn it! Why do I keep fucking things up with her!"

* * *

Kyle slowly finished the calligraphy name on the side of his new F-Thirty-seven B Raptor. They had just been sent to them from R&amp;D a few hours earlier, and he had been waiting for the squadrons jet black paint to finish drying to place his signature name back on his fighter. The new raptors were a hybrid between Cornerian and Human design, the cockpit being at the front of the fuselage, rather than at the back on the older raptor. Also, after seeing the obvious flaw in the craft's sole propulsion being it's G-Diffusion system, something Star Fox had been taking great advantage of, they had added two high end ion engines to 'assist in forward flight'. This gave the craft an insane speed capability, coupled with added thrusters meant that even with the loss of all six G-Diffusers, these new raptors can remain airborne, unlike its predecessor. Another change was in its cannons, a new hybrid design using three hundred solid depleted uranium slugs, much like a riflemen's weapon or Kyle's side arm. When it ran out of the solid rounds, it switched back to the standard Hydrogen fueled cannons that had become the standard of Starfighters across the galaxy.

"Lieutenant, why the hell do you insist on painting that stupid name onto your ships?" Kyle took one final look at the name, _Twilight's Fire, _that he had literally just finished painting. He then dropped off the ladder and to the metal hull plating below, his right foot making a hollow clang. Although foot was probably the wrong name, given it was more of a peg.

"Captain Resnov, it's for luck, sir." The massive Russian rolled his eyes at Kyle.

"Luck? Not very lucky, given your first action with us, you were shot down. I don't think you can consider that 'luck' lieutenant." Kyle sighed as he glanced up and down the black hull of the ship, checking to see if any bolts or plates were out of place, his peg leg clanking loudly with every step he took. Had had gotten the prosthetic when he was in his early teens, losing his real foot in a car accident. He chose to go with a simple suspension peg instead of a fake foot because he thought it looked cooler. He was also constantly tweaking it and adjusting it, to the point that he actually had better balance and control on his right leg than his unharmed left.

"Well, I didn't die did I? And Will was always better than me, just need to fly against him a few times, learn his tricks. Should be able to beat him no problem after that. Sir." The captain grunted and shrugged as he moved off. "Um, sir, I have an idea. What if, the next engagement we have against them, we send one pilot after each as distractions, then the remaining pilots tag team their weakest pilot and work their way to the strongest. You know, divide and conquer and shit, sir." The captain spun on his heel and glared at him.

"You are not on this squad by my choice lieutenant, and I do not let any of my members try to tell me what to do. Learn your place, American." He stomped off out of the hanger and Kyle shrugged, pulling a picture out of his flight suit pocket as he climbed back up to the open canopy. He used a piece of tape to jam the photo onto the dash, smiling at the photo of Ashley. She was a very slender and tall girl, almost taller than Kyle himself. Her vibrant green eyes seemed to be able to pierce right through him, even in the photo, framed almost perfectly by her equally vibrant red hair. He smirked and sealed the canopy before marching out of the hanger.

* * *

Rear Admiral Damian Hawkins watched the blues and reds of faster than light travel whip past his viewport. Although the ship wasn't even pushing the speed of light at that particular moment, the energy shields still caused the same strange color patterns. A knock at his door drew his attention and he called through it.

"Come in!" a dark skinned soldier stepped through the door, pulling off his beret to show his jet black hair, cut so short that it was nothing more than stubble.

"Captain Matthew Ramirez reporting as requested, sir!" he gestured to one of the chairs as he sat in his own.

"At ease Matt. This isn't official in any capacity. Just two soldiers, talking." He sat down with some effort. His right thigh had been snapped by a tungsten slug less than a month ago, and even with the accelerated healing, it was still going to bug him for a time.

"What do you know about what happened to New York?" Ramirez stared at him, looking almost confused.

"Sir, twenty three million people were slaughtered by forty-nine CDF Cruisers. Sir." Hawkins sighed, running his fingers through his greying brown hair.

"Matt, cut the sir yes sir crap. Do you remember the details of the enemy formation during that attack?" he shook his head, waiting for Hawkins to continue. "I do. Every cruiser was in orbit, firing three volleys of broadside fire before turning and warping out. Do you see what is… fishy about that?"

"No sir, just sounds like an orbital strike sir." He sighed again, knowing how deep rooted the idea of commander's were in some soldiers minds.

"It doesn't strike you as odd that Cornerian vessels never use their broadside cannons for orbital fire throughout this entire war?" Matt was staring at him, clearly puzzled.

"Now that you mention it, yes, aren't Cornerian vessels designed so that their main cannons are more powerful and precise than their subsidiary cannons?" Hawkins nodded and continued.

"Every orbital strike I have ever seen a Cornerian vessel do, has been with the main cannons. It's how they fight in fleet actions as well. They avoid broadside fights with a passion. Don't you also find it strange that the Cornerian fleet only has fifty seven cruisers in total? And that none of our agents in Cornerian space noticed that, for at least a month and a half, there were only eight cruisers in Cornerian space? Hell, one of them was in direct sight of at least two battle groups, formed with six cruisers and thirty destroyers a piece, just before New York happened. Don't you also find it odd, that the main combat vessel of Corneria, the destroyer, was not part of a strike at the enemy home world?" Matt nodded, the confusion clearly increasing on his face.

"I, yes sir, that does seem odd." Hawkins continued, finally reaching his point.

"Or that all of our spys went silent, except for a handful of Russian spys? Or, as the more appropriate term is, soviet? I have a feeling that those ships that hit New York, did not come from Corneria. I had some very plausible proof of an attack of similar circumstance on a Cornerian city, simply not very… trustworthy proof. The source, how should I put this? Has a bit of a bounty on their head. And was saying he had data to prove some strange connections, but was unable to send it since the Prime Minister's gain of control of the theater." Ramirez shifted in his seat, clearly nervous.

"So you are not just here to inspect how the war is going for the UEC leaders?" Hawkins nodded as he continued. "So then why are you here sir?"

"To see my son, in case things go south for him. I believe that is something you can understand Matt, given you have a son back home, yes? And I would bet you would do anything to see him again?" Ramirez nodded without hesitation. "So, first, I have orders for you that you are to tell no one about. Keep an eye on our Russian friends, you see something fishy, jot it down and encrypt it. I am going to have you transferred to Admiral Douglas's command, on loan to other commanders. Meaning, all mission reports go to him, along with these… notes." Ramirez suddenly cut him off, his eyes locking with Hawkins.

"Sir, I've already seen something fishy, when I saw your son. After he had shot me, he went into a cell and came out with a Cornerian woman. She was severely beaten, fresh stab wounds, pressure cuts. Too fresh to be from a fighter crash twelve hours earlier."

"I read your report, why didn't I hear of this?" Ramirez seemed to hesitate, clearly worried about something.

"It was in there, but…" Hawkins finished the words for him.

"But it went through a Russian commander before going home." Ramirez nodded as Hawkins continued. "Alright. So, orders still stand. All mission reports will go to Admiral Douglas and no one else. I also need your help finding my son. And getting me to him without anyone noticing. The subspace call, well, it wasn't enough." Ramirez nodded as the ship vibrated, dropping out of Warp above the planet Katina.

"I will sir. And that does explain one thing sir." Hawkins raised an eyebrow at him as he continued. "Why Will is fighting us. He thinks we murdered people on Corneria, just as we think the Cornerians murdered people on earth. I doubt anything short of that would explain what he said to me." Before Hawkins could respond, he saluted and stepped out, leaving him alone with his thoughts again.

* * *

**Fifteen Hours Before**

A brown and tan Vulpine grabbed the headset off the table, hoping he had the dish angled properly for the tight beam signal to reach Corneria. He took a deep breath before he finally spoke into the mic.

"This is Lieutenant Robert McGlocklin of the seventieth Cornerian Air Defense Fighter Wing. My unit has been shot down on Katina, and there is an active resistance against the UEC. We need back up, and…" images flashed through his mind of what he had seen in the past few days. "And the UEC has a lot to answer for. Over and out." He dropped the mic and hoped the message got through before he pointed his blaster at the radio and fired.


	17. Chapter 17: Shockwave

Saber sat down in one of the briefing room chairs, waiting for the others to file in. Krystal dropped into the seat beside him, giving him a small smile. He smiled back, just wishing she hadn't sat there. He really wanted to know why they had left Sauria, but with her beside him, he got the feeling he was going to be focusing on her. The others finally managed to settle into seats, Fox, Peppy, and Will all standing at the front.

"Alright, we're sorry we haven't gotten to you guys about why we are on our way to Katina right now." Fox started to pace as he spoke. They all knew he was still in a lot of pain, and shouldn't be up and moving, but he did it anyway. "As you all know, Katina is in enemy hands right now, and pepper recently sent a battle group to test the defenses around Katina. The group was forced to flee, only seven of its thirty vessels returning. But, large numbers of fighter craft were left behind in the retreat. Cornerian command recently received a tight beam signal on the military emergency band. Problem is, the signal did not have the power to be decipherable."

"But, we were able to pinpoint the signal to Katina's capital. Problem is, Katina is heavily guarded by UEC forces." Peppy had brought up a hologram of Katina as he spoke, highlighting the capitol. There were at least a hundred red signatures in orbit, marking UEC vessels. "Pepper has requested that we investigate. The Great Fox will drop out of Warp in low orbit above Katina's moon, then set down on the surface and power all but her most vital systems down." Will suddenly took control of the screen, one of the boxy shuttles appearing.

"That is when the rest of us will take off in one of the shuttles, rigged with Optical and electronic camouflage. Now, these systems will not be able to run for long, so it will be needed to be in and out of the atmosphere as quickly as possible, so we will be doing a HALO insertion." Mira put her hand up and will fell silent. "Yes Mira?"

"What's a HALO insertion?" Saber already knew the answer, having been a bit of a military history nut.

"A High Altitude, Low Opening Parachute jump." He could see the fear in Mira's eyes. The Cornerians had rarely had any cause to perform these kind of jumps, and had virtually no experience with the military applications of a parachute. "Now, we are not dropping into the city itself, rather, the plains outside of the city at night. Once down, we will regroup and attempt to find the source of the transmission." As he spoke, he ran a simulation on the holo board of what he was planning.

"The co-ordinates of the transmission are accurate to about a block so you will have to fan out when you get there." Peppy was the one speaking now. "I highly advise all of you carry spare power packs, Hydrogen packs, food, munitions, enough equipment to operate for at least two weeks. We don't know how long you guys will be stuck down there." The room grew quiet for a minute before Mira broke the silence.

"Do we know who sent the message?" Will sighed, his eyes dropping to his feet.

"It's believed to have been Lieutenant R. McGlocklin's emergency radio." The room went silent as Mira gasped. "I'm sorry Mira. Now, does anyone have any questions?" no one reacted, so he continued. "Alright, Dismissed!" the group seemed to stand as one, all except Mira. He walked over to her seat, seeing tears in her eyes.

"Hey, something up?" she looked at him and nodded, clearly not willing to speak. "Need an ear to listen to ya?" she shook her head as Will sat beside her.

"Go get your kit ready Saber." He nodded and took a second glance back at Mira, finding himself wondering why she was so distraught.

"McGlocklin is an old… significant other of hers." Saber jumped slightly at the sound of Krystal's voice.

"Hey, didn't know you were there." She smirked and gestured for him to follow her.

"I'm good at that. Wouldn't mind getting some help with my kit?" he smirked and walked with her toward the armory.

* * *

Rear Admiral Hawkins stared out of the viewport at the planet below. He clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to calm down. He had just gotten off the line with the local Katinain Fleet Admiral, who was less than cooperative with Hawkins mission.

"Admiral, we just got a strange Warp out signal sir." He looked over at one of the surveillance specialists, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Explain Lieutenant." He popped an image on the main holo projector, already speaking.

"Well sir, it looked like a fairly large vessel jumped out of Warp, but the ship came out here. If he was on course to the planet, he's toast. And I'm reading a dust cloud, could be an impact site." The image was of Katina's moon, and sure enough, a massive cloud of dust had been tossed Kilometers into its thin atmosphere.

"Alright, flight ops, alert a squadron and launch, I want a fly by at that impact site, sensors, go into active scans, full board, all directions, Hooyah?" the bridge crew all repeated the statement as specks shot away from the ship on his battle map. After a few minutes, the squadron leader's voice echoed across the bridge.

"Well, I aint seein shit. No debris, nothin'. If there was a ship here, it got pulverized on impact sir." He nodded, lost in though.

"Roger that, return to the Lincoln, Lincoln actual out."

* * *

Mira tapped her foot, unable to calm her nerves as she sat in the shuttle. The rest of the group seemed oddly calm in their full face helmets, Will having simply sealed his for the extreme altitude they would be jumping at. They had stripped the parachutes from the fighter's ejection seats, so they had no fear of hitting the ground to hard. Her thoughts kept bouncing back to the thought that Robert could be down here, or that he could be dead. Will had done little to calm her, simply telling her that he was 'probably' fine, and then not said a word to her since. She bit her lip as Peppy came over the intercom, having sealed the cockpit from the cargo bay.

"Alright, we are in position to deploy. Opening rear hatch." Wind roared past them as the hatch opened, so loud, that she was unsure whether or not she was going to hear the go signal. She stood with the others, staggering slightly as the craft was jostled by a gust of wind. Her hands were shaking as she tugged on her carbine again, hoping for the millionth time that it wasn't going to rip off. She gulped as Will gave the group a thumbs up, before turning around and leaping off the ramp. She shuffled forward, waiting roughly two seconds for Bill to jump out before her, just as Will had told her. She jumped out, feeling her stomach rip up to her throat as she was instantly plummeting toward the planet. Terrified, she let out a scream like none she had before, so loud that she could hear it over the roar of the wind rushing past her. Her voice gave out after a few seconds. There was still almost a minute before they would be at the three hundred meter mark that they had agreed to open the chutes at. Her fear slowly ebbed away as adrenaline took over, allowing her to finally look around. The deep blue sky around her made it impossible to tell what was around her, and if she didn't have a HUD system, she wouldn't even know where the rest of the team was. The final seconds dragged on until she reached the designated altitude, and her chute automatically deployed. She felt an almighty tug, almost as is if something had reached down and grabbed her harness. Pain shot through her wherever the straps were, already knowing that she was going to be bruised. The next thirty seconds seemed calm and quiet, almost gentle in a way as she drifted down to the ground. Her eyes widened as she realized how fast the ground was approaching, getting ready to tumble when she landed. Her feet struck the ground, sending a shooting pain through her legs as she landed, slumping to her side. She released the chute, letting it blow away as she released the straps on her rifle, Will's voice already in her ear.

"Alright, everyone, re group on me! We got a long way to go." She sighed as she zeroed in on his marker, then started trotting in his direction.

* * *

Mira sighed as she walked along, almost relaxed. Will and Saber were the only ones who weren't relaxed as they moved through the city. They had spent almost a week in the suburbs, just watching patrols of Russian troops, and it was honestly frustrating her. Will had also taken the liberty to brief them on Russian soldiers and equipment. Russian troops still used kinetic based rifles, using explosive powder to launch a round down the barrel, with magnetic accelerators enhancing the bullet speed. Although these weapons were way more advanced than the kinetic weapons in the Lylat system, they were barbarically simple compared to plasma rifles.

"Damn it people, smarten up! This is a combat zone, not a weekend march!" Will's voice startled her, causing her to raise her rifle. "That's better. Now keep those rifles raised and eyes open people!" he practically stomped off ahead of them, weapon raised and aiming literally everywhere someone could hide. She sighed as she moved, overhearing Falco as he spoke to Katt.

"What the hell crawled up his ass?" Before Katt could even think to respond, Will had marched back and rammed Falco up against the wall.

"If you do not shut your smart ass up, I will blow your damn head off! Do I make myself clear?" he nodded as Will stomped back to the front of the group. Falco moved over to her, instantly speaking as soft as he could.

"Can you go figure out what the hell has crawled up his ass?" she shrugged and snaked her way up to the front of the group, trying to mirror Will's movements, and hopefully get back on his good side.

"How far?" she kept her voice quiet as she spoke. He glanced down at his tac-pad before he responded, surprisingly calm.

"Two clicks from the search zone." He suddenly held up a fist and the group condensed in front of a store. "I need a volunteer. Got heat signals ahead, need to get eyes on to confirm." Mira instantly raised her hand. He nodded and signaled for her to follow him. They slipped into the building, moving through room by room until they reached the far side. He signaled her to get low, hiding behind the counter of the small store. He peeked up over it, placing a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from doing the same. "Son of a bitch…" his voice was quiet as he spoke, almost as if he was speaking to himself.

"What is it?" he was starting to drop down behind the counter when they both heard a flurry of rapid gunshots outside. She tried to peek out, but he shoved her down as he slumped behind the counter. "Will, what is going on!" his eyes were closed as he spoke.

"Noriega. He… he just executed a group of civilians."

* * *

I fought to control the rage starting to boil up under my skin. Mira was snarling beside me as I was able to calm myself enough to restrain her. We both froze as a cold voice echoed through the shattered store window.

"Ex-Lieutenant Hawkins. You know, you really should disable your dog tags. And I would guess that you aren't alone. Maybe, miss Marshall?" she was about to stand when I stopped her, placing a single finger on the end of her short muzzle. She nodded as I stood, instantly speaking.

"Just me. No play toys for you today." I marched out into the street, eyeing the group of Combat Spetznaz around Noriega. Spetznaz, like other special forces, wore heavyweight powered armor. But, unlike other groups, the combat branch of Spetznaz were genetically modified super soldiers. Their armor was also at least twice the size of the standard powered armor. And instead of using ranged weapons, they favored high tech melee equipment, maces and axes and so forth. They also carried thick, starship grade solid shields that I had seen tank rounds get deflected off of. Most saw this as primitive, but the point was to instill fear in enemy troops. Seeing a teammate be hacked in half or crushed with a mace was one hell of a way to terrify and demoralize a combat force, especially when their armor and shields were too thick for you to shoot through.

"Ah, pity. I miss her, she has some very soft flesh, very nice to the touch." I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to fight down the rage that was starting to boil inside of me again, almost to the point of exploding out.

"You may not like it if you see her again. I think she would relieve you of some things you seem to like." He scoffed grinning as he gestured to the line of bodies slumped up against the wall, literally shredded by a pair of machine guns.

"Well, what do you think of my latest handi-work? These aliens are so easy to control. No fight or fire in them what so ever. Unlike Miss Marshall." My vision started to blur and wave, the edges growing black.

"As vile and barbaric as ever." He seemed to be grinning more and more as my body vibrated with rage.

"I think it's safe to bet that you haven't told your team about a little, problem, augmented soldiers can develop? What men in the field call bezerking?" all I could see was Noriega. All I could think of, was killing him, of ripping his limbs off one by one, tearing his body apart. _Mira. I can't let her see this in me._ The one thought seemed to take the edge of the rage, just enough that I could start to focus again. "But, sadly, I must be off. Captain, please deal with this man, and the pilot. You have, ten minutes, I believe. Do make it out in time." With that, he climbed into a troop carrier and it sped away down the street." I popped my rifle up and fired, the plasma shots just bouncing off the Spetznaz soldiers shielding. He laughed as he spoke, slowly advancing on me.

"I got this guy, pull the pilot out and make sure he's dead so we can get out of here." Two of the heavily armored shoulders started digging in the rubble of a collapsed building as I fought to think of what to do. Suddenly, a mass of rounds ripped away from the second story of the building, filling the air with a high pitched whine as an even louder crack accompanied it. A red lance tore clean through one of the Spetznaz's faceplates, the one approaching on me being shredded by the machine gun fire. I smirked as I ran for cover, loading an HE shell into the grenade launcher on my rifle. The other Spetznaz were all hiding behind their massive shields, having no ranged weapons to combat Falco's anti-material rifle. I waited for one to show its chest to me and I fired, watching the round detonate on the armor. He was blasted onto his back, letting Falco score another kill as the rest of the team fanned out of the building.

"Everyone, try to expose them to Falco! Our rifles won't do much more than tell em we're there!" the group acknowledged as I slipped out of cover, slowly advancing toward one, firing my rifle over and over. Suddenly, one of them lowered his shield enough to fire a grenade launcher into the building, right below Falco and Bill. I heard Katt scream as they charged for us. Krystal merely dropped her rifle and whipped her staff out, easily sidestepping the trooper that went after her and blasting him with some sort of shockwave. The trooper was slammed into the store Mira and I had been hiding in. she rushed after it as another slammed it's arm shield into Mira. Rage boiled back into my veins, all thought disappearing in a heartbeat.

* * *

Mira groaned as she lifted herself off the pavement. The Spetznaz soldier was still advancing on her and she scrambled to her rifle, almost ten meters away from her. She was surprised when she reached it, the trooper having not reached her. She spun on the spot to find Will, his knife drawn, fighting the armored soldier hand to hand. Her heart seemed to freeze as he nearly was smashed by the mace the trooper carried, letting will slice through the hydraulic lines that powered the arm. Scarily enough, this didn't stop the trooper from moving the arm, just slowed it. Will wasn't so lucky when the soldier slammed the massive rectangular shield into him, sending him flying.

"Will!" she fired blast after blast at the soldier, causing him to hide behind his shield as she charged up her weapon. When she reached him, she leapt at the shield, using the fact that it was slanted to turn it into a ramp. As she jumped off the other side, she did a summersault, firing the charged shot into the back of the Spetznaz head as she did so. The plasma blast cut through the somehow nonexistent shielding and tore the head clean off. She landed on the ground and raised her rifle toward the next soldier, only to find that it was already swinging its heavy ax at her. Will slammed into her, knocking her to the ground for the blade to swing harmlessly past them. He leapt back to his feet, seemingly unaffected by the shield hit as he sprinted at the ax wielder, side stepping the follow up swing. Almost like watching a choreographed fight form the movies, he stepped forward, ramming the knife into the soldier's hand, then yanking it out as he stepped around the soldier, out of Mira's sight. He appeared on the trooper's back, ramming the knife blade through the faceplate. Her attention got grabbed by a red blast, to fire like to have been a plasma bolt. Krystal was battling a new soldier, her staff's point cutting clean throught the Spetznaz armor. Saber was beyond her, his sword plunging deep into the last soldier's chest. She glanced back at Will, who was still savagely ramming the knife into the dead Spetznaz visor, jagged pieces lodged into his hands.

"Will! He's dead!" he didn't respond as she cautiously inched forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. As soon as she touched him, he knocked her hand away and she saw the knife flying toward her. She leaned back just in time, the tip of the knife barely nicking her check. "Will! Stop!" almost like a wall hit him, his eyes widened and he slumped to the ground, the knife falling from his grasp.

"Mira i… no damn it! i…" she stopped him from saying anything more. She was terrified, but strangely, not of him, but what she had just seen him do. "I hurt you…" he was starting to stand up, trying to back away when she stopped him again.

"Will, what the hell was that!?" he shook his head, his eyes fixated on her bleeding cheek. "Will, calm down, I'm fine! It's just a scratch!" the others were grouping around them. He slumped back to his knees as she wrapped her arms around him. After a few seconds, she backed off and pulled his trembling hands toward her, gently pulling the visor shards out of his hands. His mouth opened several times as she treated the deep cuts, but no words came out.

"Mira! You really need to see this!" she looked up to where Bill was standing, at the rubble they had seen the Spetznaz digging at. She quickly finished the bandage on Will's hands and gently squeezed his wrist before running over to the rubble. There was a helmeted body in the rubble, still half buried. When she got closer to them, she managed to make out the name on the helmet, instantly dropping to her knees, tears in her eyes. _LT. R. McGlocklin._

* * *

_I hurt her… __**I **__hurt her!_ The thought ran through my head over and over, the image of my knife slicing her cheek open flashing through my eyes over and over again. I was staring at my bandaged hands, unable to move. The sound of sobbing came to my attention and I looked up, seeing Mira on her knees near the rubble. I staggered to my feet, leaving my knife on the ground as I walked toward her. My eyes started to wander until the sight of one cylindrical object caused me to freeze. I sprinted toward it, using my blaster pistol to blast rivets off and reveal the mechanism below. My heart dropped as I recognized the analogue timer on it, reading the time left. _5:43_. Less than six minutes, and the eighty megaton warhead was going to go off. And I knew nothing of the old analogue timer.

"Um Will, please don't tell me that's what I think it is?" Falco was standing beside me, several fresh cuts on his body.

"It is. We need to go, now! Mira!" my feet carried me to her as she looked up, tears and blood dripping down her face. "Mira! We have to go! Now!" I recognized the furry head of her ex, Robert in the rubble.

"We cant leave him!" I cursed as I stared at the corpse.

"We have too. In five minutes, this place will just be a fucking crater!" I grabbed her and forcibly dragged her to the large personnel carrier that had belonged to the Spetznaz. I strapped her into a seat as she sobbed into her hands, the cuts on my hands starting to burn.

"Catch!" Saber was tossing me my knife. I almost didn't try to catch it, grabbing it by the handle and slipping it away without a second glance. He had my rifle in his other hand as I dropped into the pilot's seat. Unlike standard treaded carriers, this personnel carrier used G-diffusion fields to hover between one and six meters in the air. As soon as everyone was aboard, I gunned the engines, heading for outside the city.

"Will to Great Fox! Respond, we have an emergency down here! They primed a nuke, cant disable, need extraction now!" for the first time since I was a child, I prayed that they would make it in time.

* * *

Fox perked up at the sound of the radio call, instantly speaking over the intercom.

"Slippy! Get the engines primed for a double Warp jump! Peppy, get in the shuttle and be ready to launch! Rob, I need you to plot two Warp jumps, one that drops us in atmo at their beacon, and one that jumps us out immediately after! Got it!?" Rob acknowledged as Slippy spoke over the intercom.

"Fox! It'll take three minutes to get the engines primed for that! Even then, we won't have weapons or shielding if we get fired on!" Fox cursed as he responded.

"They won't have time to fire, just do it!" he clenched his teeth, hoping they would get there in time, a certain Blue Vixen in mind.

* * *

"Sir, we got a detected a transmission, still trying to crack the encryption, but it's definitely Cornerian. Active beacon pegging location sir." Hawkins moved back to his command chair as he spoke.

"Alright, on screen." One of the cities appeared with a flashing red dot moving away from the city at high speed.

"Whoaa, we got a ship, long range, near the moon." He spilt the screen between the two views as a LADAR scan of the vessel came through, unmistakable as to what ship it was.

"All hands battl…" his voice dropped off as a brilliant white flash filled the viewport, right where the city was supposed to be.

"Sir, Warp signature, ship at the moon is, well, it aint at the moon no more. Sir." He was about to ask where the ship was when it appeared on his screen, above the beacon, which had ceased to move when the nuke went off. Russian ships moved to engage it, but the ship jumped back to Warp, blasting the surface of the planet with a nasty shockwave.

* * *

My foot was leveled on the floor as the vehicle raced throught the country side, still trying to get as far away from the city as I could. Suddenly, a deafening blast ripped throught the vehicle, and the next thing I knew, we were tumbling across the ground. I groaned as the vehicle came to a rest, surprisingly intact for what had just happened.

"Status!" Saber was already popping the rear hatch, and the others already starting to get up in awkwardly angled space. Lucy suddenly shrieked as she moved one of her legs. The leg was bent at a weird angle, just above the knee. I helped Krystal get her moving and out of the APC, glancing back in the bay. Mira was still in the vehicle, not moving. My heart leapt into my throat as I rushed back in, feeling her for a pulse. I relaxed as I felt a pulse and gently shook her. It took a few seconds, but her eyes finally opened. "Hey, you alright?" she nodded and tried to move, panic starting to spread.

"My foot! It's stuck!" I followed the line of her leg, seeing the hull plate that had dented in, pinning her foot against the seat. I cursed and started yanking at the seat. There was another crack and I froze, thinking it was a gunshot.

"Hey, the Great Fox is here! We gotta go, now!" I cursed and kept yanking at the chair. Just seconds later, Bill was back, shouting into the vehicle. "Damn it guys, that radioactive cloud is almost here. You don't get out of here now, you won't ever!" I cursed and yanked my pistol out, aiming at the chair.

"Will? What ar…" she was cut off as I fired, the plasma ripping through the metal. Melted metal bit into her leg and she screamed. I tugged at the chair again, it still not budging.

"I'm sorry Mira." I aimed and fired at the metal again and again, sending more bits of metal into her calf. The chair finally broke free and I dragged her out of the vehicle. The grass around us was all brunt to a crisp, flash burned in the blast. Anything bigger than a shrub was actively on fire in the oxygen rich air. One of the shuttles was landed on the field and I scooped Mira up, slinging her on my back in a firemen's carry as I ran for the shuttle. As soon as I was on board, the ramp closed and Peppy gunned the engines. I gently set Mira down in one of the seats, just in time for the shuttle to crash down in the rear hanger. Another resounding boom ripped through the air as the Great Fox leapt to Warp. I finally breathed a sigh of relief as I slumped to the shuttle deck. Fox's voice echoed over the intercom.

"Peppy! Did we get everyone?" I held up a fist and stood, keying up the shuttle radio.

"All hands accounted for and on board, still breathing Fox." Cheers erupted throught the intercom as Fox continued.

"Damn good Work people, especially to you guys in engineering, I think the ground team owes all of you a beer or two!" I smirked as I moved over to Lucy, helping Bill carry her down the ramp as Krystal helped Mira along. I took one last glance at her being laid on a stretcher, seeing the cut on her cheek and looking away. Townsend shoved me out of the way, helping Bill load Lucy on a different stretcher and marching off toward the med bay.

"Hey Will, here." Saber had moved up beside me as I watched them leave the hanger, holding out my rifle. I accepted it and stalked off into the ship without saying a word.

* * *

Fox rushed to the infirmary, glancing in the window to see Mira sitting on one of the beds as Doc gently stitched a cut on her cheek. He slipped through the door, seeing Lucy on one of the cots, her leg already in a heavy caste. He walked straight over to Lucy, already speaking.

"Hey, how ya feeling Lucy?" she smiled, almost psychotically.

"Oh! I feel greeeaat Fooox!" he rolled his eyes as Townsend spoke.

"Alright, all done Mira. Remember, that boot has your ankle immobilized. Lucky for you, the metal didn't bite too deep. I want you in here twice a day so I can keep an eye on that." She moved to get up and Fox grabbed her arm, his eyes on Townsend.

"How are these two?" he took a glance at Lucy, who was staring at the ceiling and visibly counting something.

"Well, other than I think I may have doped Lucy a little too much, she will recover. But, this war is over for her. I recommend we leave her at Corneria to heal. Warship is no place to mend bones. Mira here, other than some very faint hairline fractures, has nothing serious. Some nasty damage from superheated metal, but not deep. This cut though, it's very clean. Probably won't even scar too much. Whatever did it, was sharp." He nodded and let Townsend check on Lucy again as he focused his attention on Mira.

"Mira, how did you get that cut?" she looked away from him, almost as if she was ashamed of it.

"I… I got hit by a metal fragment when the nuke went off." He knew she was lying the second she said it. Krystal's voice startled him, not noticing that she had come in.

"No, Mira, lying won't help anything. Will took a swing at her with his knife." Fox started looking between them, totally bewildered.

"What, as in, Will intentionally attacked her?" Krystal nodded as she sat on the bed beside Mira, inspecting the stitched up wound.

"Yup. I think Mira should tell you the details." Mira still wouldn't make eye contact with either of them.

"It was an accident. He, I don't know, went nuts I guess. Kept stabbing a dead body. Got a whole bunch of visor shards in his hands doing it. I just touched his shoulder, and he took a swing. I really don't think he realized it was me. It was as if he, well, as if he wasn't him." Fox simply listened patiently as she spoke. "I really don't think he meant to, it was just… an accident I guess."

"Alright, well where is he, you said he tore up his hands…" Mira cut him off before he could continue.

"Hell if I know! Look, I really don't mean to be rude, but can you cut the damned interrogation? Just want to be alone right now." He nodded and patted her shoulder as she slipped off the cot and limped toward the door.

"Well, Kry…" she cut him off just as fast as Mira did.

"I don't know Fox, I was too busy digging Bill and Falco out of a building to know what happened. I just glanced over and saw it happen." He nodded, an awkward silence filling the air between them.

"Well, I think I need to have a little chat with him. See if you can find him, I'm going to go revoke his flight status. For now." She stopped him, grabbing his arm very roughly.

"Look, I can't! Alright? He's gotten too damn good at blocking me out. Couldn't find him if I wanted to." Fox cursed and stomped his way out of the infirmary, heading up to the bridge in hopes of finding Peppy there.

* * *

Mira slipped into the dark vehicle bay, waiting for her eyes to adjust before she spoke.

"Will? Are you in here?" she sighed when she didn't get a response and started searching the silent room. She found him sitting in one of the corners, almost perfectly hidden by munitions crates. He was still wearing his armor, except the helmet, which was sitting beside him. He had his knife out and was staring at the black slender blade, tears barely visible on his face. She sat beside him, their shoulders almost touching as she spoke. "Will, what's wrong?" he was silent for several seconds, not even acting like she was there. She was about to say more when he spoke, his voice almost too quiet to hear.

"I'm what's wrong Mira." She remained silent, too stunned to know what to say to him. "You need to get away from me. Before I hurt you again. I… I could've killed you today." The tears in his eyes multiplied as the knife slipped from his hands, clattering on the floor.

"No. Will, talk to me. What's going on?" he stared at the plating beneath them for a while, tears still streaming down his face.

"I… there's a condition. It's medically called genetically amplified emotion. It's fairly rare, only about one in every few thousand soldiers get it. And one in maybe, thirty does it develop an emotion other than rage. Soldiers generally call people who have it 'Berzerkers'. Mine is considered a mild case of the extreme. Although I can't remember what I do when I lose it, I can still fight it off, to a degree. Some people, just lose it and don't stop until they are dead." Tears started to sting her own eyes as she spoke.

"You lost it when your team was killed on Ganymede, didn't you? That's why you were discharged." He nodded, already speaking.

"I remember watching Amanda be executed, but after that, nothing. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital a week later, signed discharge papers on the nightstand. They told me that I killed a lot of insurgents that day, but I nearly lost my life." he started stripping out of his chest rig, then pulled his shirt up and pointed at what was clearly a healed plasma burn. "This shot was so close to my heart, that if it had been even a centimeter closer, I'd be dead. And it was one of the first injuries I sustained, or, so I've been told." He dropped his shirt still unwilling to look at her.

"And you lost it again with Dan? And again in the fight with razor's kiss?" he nodded, leaving that as his only response. "Will, I'm right here for you. And I am never going to leave, no matter what happens. Okay?" he shook his head, his voice as pained as it was bitter.

"No, you need to get the fuck away from me. I may not be able to stop myself next time! What if I shoot at you?! What would've happened if you hadn't reacted so quickly!? You need to sta…" she cut him off, pulling him into a tight hug as she spoke.

"Will, I don't care what happens to me! I am staying right here, and I am NEVER leaving!" he was sobbing into her shoulder, so pitifully that it actually scared her.

"Mira, I don't… I can't hurt you again! And as long as you are anywhere near me, I will!" she leaned back, gently forcing him to look her in the eye. She let a smile spread across her face as she responded.

"You really don't get it, do you? No matter what you say, I am staying right here. Emotions and feelings put aside, you did the same for me. I had a gun pointed at your chest, and you told me that if I was going to shoot you, just do it, because you weren't going to leave my side. That alone, is enough to make me stay right here. Even without that, Will…" she hesitated for a second, scared of what he could say. "I love you." He closed his eyes as fresh tears poured out, almost as if her saying that hurt him. Tears started to pour out of her own eyes, hoping that what she was seeing was just her imagination.

"Why do you think I want to protect you so badly Mira? I love you Mira, but I can't love you! I am a monster, and I ca…" she put a finger on his lips, just before gently kissing his cheek and pulling him back into a hug.

"Will, stop. You are not a monster, and you never will be. We'll find a way to end this. You just have to be brave." She felt him nod, finally wrapping his arms around her as they both cried into each other's shoulders.


	18. Chapter 18: Matters of the Heart

Fox and Peppy were silent as they waited for the transmission to go through. Fox was about to say something when a hologram of General Pepper appeared.

"Gentlemen, what news do you have for me?" Fox sighed, bringing up the data they had collected through Will's drone before the nuclear bomb had destroyed it.

"They detonated a nuke in the city of Harrisburg. City is wiped of the planet, along with at least eighty thousand people. Drone was still counting when the nuke went off." The images were of a massive thermal reading in the center of the city, that when zoomed, showed the individual people that had been there, followed by the brilliant flash on an orbital scan, showing the city literally disappear in a heartbeat.

"My god! Eighty thousand civilians?" Fox nodded, closing his eyes as he spoke.

"And they've been executing people by firing squad as well. Who knows how many are already dead." The room feel silent of all but the faint hum of the holo projector

"Did you find the transmission source?" Fox nodded again, a sigh escaping his chest.

"Affirmative. He was dead when we found him. The ground team had some minor injuries, Lucy broke her leg. Which means I'm now permanently down one." Pepper shook his head, sending a file to Fox.

"Corporal Damon Saber's discharge papers. And his mercenary license. Thought you wouldn't mind the extra pilot." Fox grunted as he logged the files away, his wrist computer beeping.

"Hold on please." Pepper nodded as he answered the call, Townsend's voice rolling out of the small speaker.

"Fox, you told me to notify you if Hawkins ever came to the med bay? He's here now." Fox nodded and glanced up at Pepper and Peppy.

"Pardon me, but I have some business to attend to. General." He slipped out of the door before either of them could respond. He impatiently tapped his foot on the elevator, not bothering to check the corner as he got off. He collided with a mass of blue hued fur. They both awkwardly used the other for support, trying to keep from falling. "Oh, um sorry Krystal." Krystal sighed as both of them regained their balance.

"No, it's my fault, wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry Fox." They stood there, the silence bringing on an uncomfortable squirming sensation in Fox's stomach. "I… where are you off too in such a hurry?" he shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Oh, just the infirmary. Will apparently showed up there." She nodded and seemed to debate for a second.

"You wouldn't mind some company, would you?" he shook his head as stepped around her, his eyes fixed on the window that peaked into the infirmary.

"No, I don't care if you come with." She nodded and followed him in silence. The door opened and he saw Will sitting on one of the beds, all of his gear, along with his fatigues top, piled in a corner, leaving him in a white t-shirt and grey combat cargo's. Mira was sitting next to him on the bed, her arms wrapped around on of his, her head resting on his shoulder. She shied away when the door opened, rubbing her bare arms in a vain attempt to appear casual. "Will, where the hell have you been?!" Fox's voice snapped out of him, much harsher than he intended. Mira immediately sprung to her feet, nearly falling over as pain clearly ripped up from her injured leg.

"Leave him alone Fox, he's got it hard enough as is!" Fox glared at her and focused his attention back on Will.

"Hawkins! I asked you a question, I expect you to answer it!" he saw Krystal move forward out of the corner of his eye, about to say something to him when Will suddenly spoke, his voice near silent.

"You want me off the team, don't you? To be frank, I don't blame you. I could've killed Mira today, so whatever punishment you see fit, I'll accept." His head hung low and his shoulders were slumped in defeat. The only word Fox could think of to describe his posture, was broken.

"Will, don't…" Fox cut Mira off before she could speak.

"I've already revoked you're flight status. So, take this week and think long and hard. If something like this happens again, then you won't even get the chance to come back to the ship. Understood?" he nodded as Krystal instantly protested.

"Fox! Doesn't that seem a little harsh to you?" he glared at her as he responded.

"This is my ship and my crew. And I do not want anyone on board that will endanger them." Krystal stared at him with a pained expression on her face, totally shocked.

"But, Fox, he didn't mean to do it! Even Mira…" he cut her off, his voice almost to the point of shouting.

"Krystal. Shut. Up. This is my ship and you are going to follow my orders on it. If you can't handle that, take your gear and get the hell off my ship." He stormed out of the room. He was inside the elevator when he suddenly realized what he had just said to Krystal, and tears started flowing uncontrollably out of his eyes. "Damn it! Krystal, I'm so sorry." _Why did I do that to her!?_ As that crossed his mind, he found himself hating himself.

* * *

Krystal felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't stop them from flowing out as she covered her eyes. _Why did he say that? It's so unlike him!_ At the same time the thought crossed her mind, another voice, her own, but not quite the same, seemed to speak softly from the back of her mind. _Because you brought it on yourself. You caused this when you broke up with him._ She sobbed into her hands and startled when a bandaged hand was gently rested on her shoulder. She fought her eyes open and looked behind her to see Will, a sad look in his eyes. Without saying a word, he gently hugged her as she continued to cry.

"It's alright Krystal. He's just on edge. All of us are. He just needs some time away from all of this." He released her and the three of them sat on one of the beds, Mira gently stroking her back in an attempt to calm her.

"No, this is all my fault. I never should've broken up him, and for such a stupid reason no less! i…" Will placed a finger on her muzzle, causing her to stop.

"It isn't your fault. Just let him cool off." She looked away, not willing to look at him.

"He's right Krystal. Wait for him to cool off, then talk to him. tell him what you just said to us." She shook her head, tears still flowing out of her eyes.

"I can't! I've already tried." Mira patted her back before slipping of the cot, wincing as her foot hit the floor.

"Yes you can. You just gotta try. Come on. I bet neither of you have eaten since we got back." she nodded and followed them out of the room, letting herself fall behind. Mira turned around before she got too far away, clearly noticing.

"I'm sorry guys. I'm not hungry. I think I'm going to just go to my cabin." Mira nodded and spoke, Will nodding with her.

"Well, we are always here for you. Let us know if you need to talk." Krystal nodded back before turning around, headed for her cabin. When she got there she slumped into her bunk, just staring at the ceiling as she cried. There was a knock on her door and she ignored it. Another knock followed and she cursed, stomping over to the door and slamming her fist on the switch.

"What the hel…" her voice froze as she saw Saber standing in front of her, a concerned look on his face.

"May I come in? Or are you just going to stand there?" she sighed and gestured him inside before plopping onto her bunk. "So, what's going on gorgeous?" she glared at him before she spoke.

"Just something Fox said." He grunted and moved over beside her, crouching down so their eyes were level with each other.

"And why do you let that dick head bother you? You broke with him, right?" she felt a spike rip through her heart as he insulted Fox, but deep down inside her, she had the opposite reaction.

"I don't know, I guess I'm stupid like that. He really is a dick head, isn't he?" Saber chuckled and nodded, his voice very soft in her ear.

"Sure seems that way. But I think I know somebody who might just truly appreciate you." He winked and waved goodbye, about to open the door out of her room when she spoke.

"Please don't go." He dropped his hand and walked over to her bed, sitting down on it before leaning forward and gently kissing the top of her muzzle.

"Never."

* * *

Mira sat down next to Will as he dropped his tray across from Saber and Krystal. They were almost to Corneria, only stopping by to pick up supplies and drop Lucy off planet side. Krystal shot a glare across the table at them before she spoke.

"Are you two incapable of leaving me alone or something?" Will raised an eyebrow at her, ignoring her statement as his attention turned to Saber.

"Hey Saber. See your getting along with sourpuss there." Saber was about to speak when Krystal butted in.

"Oh, don't tell me you're just here to talk to Saber. Why else would Mira be here." she cleared her throat as she gently nuzzled Will's check. He smirked and turned red, leaving that as his only reaction.

"Anyway, Saber, can I ask you something?" he nodded and Will continued before Krystal could snap off some snide comment or another. "Why aren't you a mutt? I mean, your parents were most definitely not the same race, and yet, you look like a Wolf." Mira chuckled, but decided to let Saber answer.

"It doesn't work that way. Were you raised in a barn or something?" Will gave him look of annoyance, a small smile on his face. "Oh, right, human. Slipped my mind! Anyway, generally speaking, when two parents of separate races have a child, the race of the child matches that of the parent of the same sex as the child. So, being male, I'm a lupine, like my father. Mutts are a genetic hiccup, if you will. Out of a thousand family's, each with three kids, only one of those three thousand kids would be a Mutt. No offense Mira." She waved off the use of the term as she spoke.

"It's just a word. Anyway, why didn't you ask me that, I could've answered it?" Will turned bright red again and seemed to shrivel up as he sat there.

"Because I honestly thought he was the genetic glitch." He winced, almost as if he was expecting to be yelled at by Mira. She ran her knuckles over his head a few times as she laughed.

"Alright, you are officially a knuckle head." He smiled and pulled her into a hug, resting his cheek on the top of her head. She couldn't help but grin as she buried her muzzle in his chest.

"Alright if I'm a knuckle head, what does that make you?" he released her as he spoke, staying facing her. She smirked before she responded.

"Well, I'm your beautiful …" she hesitated, wanting to say girlfriend, but realizing that, although they were definitely not friends, she honestly didn't know what they were. "Wingman." She finished awkwardly and he smirked at her, rolling his eyes. Krystal drew their attention, a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry you two, I shouldn't have yelled at you." Will just shrugged, leaving that as their response. "I… Will, how do humans deal with things? Like, you know, hard to deal with things." He grunted, lost in thought for a few seconds.

"Various ways. Personally, I don't. just can take that shit I guess." Mira saw a flash of pain in his eyes as they fluttered toward her. "But if anyone should have PTSD, it's my dad. But, he doesn't. he says it's because he prays every morning and before every meal. I used to think that was a load of bull, but, well, I'm not so sure now." Krystal raised her eyebrow as Mira stayed in rapt attention. Saber was doing the same.

"As in, religion?" he nodded and Mira spoke up.

"Hey, aren't the Papetoon native's the only Lylat races to still have major religion?" Saber nodded as he spoke, Will raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I aint religious, but most of us Lupine's and Vulpines do believe in a higher power. Most that still believe in this one god made the universe and holy trinity crap." She heard Will mutter under his breath, a confused expression on his face.

"As in, the father, the son, and the holy spirt?" Saber nodded, grunting.

"Yeah, that sounds right. I think it's the holy ghost though." Will was clearly in deep thought as Saber stretched and yawned. "Well, I'm going to get some shut eye, later you two. Good night Krystal." He bent over and kissed her cheek, shocking Mira.

"What?" she was staring at Krystal with an absolutely bewildered expression. Before Krystal could answer, Mira's attention was grabbed by Fox shouting.

"You arrogant fucking asswipe!" just as her eyes reached him, she saw a flash of orange as his fist slammed into Saber's gut, followed with incredible speed by a knee to his doubled over face, and a snap kick to his gut, so fast and powerful that either strike would have put Saber on his back. Before Fox could continue his assault on Saber, Will had slid over the table, grabbed Fox by the scruff of his neck, and slammed him down on one of the tables, sending food and trays spitting away like shrapnel.

"What the fuck was that McCloud!?" she could sense the traces of rage in Will's voice, and she rushed around the table to Will's side. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced at her, gently shaking his head.

"Let go of me before I shoot you Hawkins." Fox was snarling at Will as Will calmly responded, speaking to Saber.

"Saber, Krystal, to your' cabins, now please." His attention shifted back to Fox as Krystal helped Saber to his feet. "Fox, Stop. Now. Or would you like to be thrown in the brig?" Fox laughed mirthlessly at Will as he struggled against Will's powerful grip.

"The brig? This is MY ship you stupid fucker! You could no more throw me in the brig than kick someone off the team!" Will just smirked as he intentionally glanced up at Peppy, sitting almost level with Fox's face, and splattered with food.

"I can't, but he can." Fox stopped struggling and will let go of him. He straightened his filthy shirt and stalked out of the room without saying a word. "Bill, track him. Make sure he doesn't go to Saber's cabin." Bill nodded and left as Peppy finally stood, slack jawed.

"I… What? Never thought I would see Fox lose his shit like that." Will sighed and gestured for Mira to go with him, brushing food off his uniform to the best of his abilities.

* * *

Katt sighed as she moved to grab her tool back out of the box. She had just gotten off the com line with Mira, explaining what she had just seen in the galley. A voice called out to her and she glanced over her shoulder. Falco had just entered the hanger and was moving straight for her. She sighed as she pulled herself back into the disassembled engine.

"Something you need Falco?" she started adjusting one of the power intakes on the high burn fusion torch the Invader was equipped with.

"Just wondering if you heard what happened with Fox?" she grunted, sliding out to grab a new tool before pulling herself back into the engine.

"Of course. If you have a point, get to it." she was still sour with him from their stint on Corneria, feeling like he had led her on.  
"Do you got any idea what's going on with Fox?" she sighed, finally pulling herself out of the engine and glaring at him.

"Yeah, he had his heart broken. Something I can relate to." She pulled herself back in, not even actually doing anything in the engine, just hoping he would go away.

"Look, Katt, I'm sorry I led you on." she just glared out of the engine at him, debating kicking him in the beak. He disappeared for a second and held out a tool for her.

"Your power stabilizer is in backwards." She cursed and pulled the part out, having just put it in. she passed her tools back to him and he helped her climb out this time, hooking the engine up to the power core that was lying on the hanger floor and powering it up. The engine kicked to life, just before sputtering and dying out.

"Damn it!" she chucked a tool at the engine, just before Falco crawled inside.

"You happen to have a crowbar out there?" she grabbed the tool and shoved the curved section into his feathered hand, as far from gentle as she could. She heard him groan as he pried at something inside the engine, then pulled his body back out.

"Alright, try it now." She fired the system up and the engine fired up, filling the hanger with a gentle hum. He smirked to her, handing the crowbar back.

"Coolant tube was jammed." She glared at him, the faintest trace of a smile coming on as they started to mount the first of two engines into the rebuilt hull.

* * *

I slipped through the door leading to the secondary hanger bay, at the back of the ship and above the engine cores. Supplies were being shipped up from Corneria via shuttles, and Peppy had summoned me back to the bays for some reason. I glanced around the hanger, seeing the rush of activity as Cornerian soldiers loaded supplies onto the cargo elevator to be moved to the vehicle bay and armory. I spotted Peppy and grinned, seeing a familiar boxer like face beside him.

"Captain Winters!" he looked up and grinned when he saw me, waving me over. I slid to a stop at him and he held his hand out. I grabbed it and pulled him into a half hug.

"Good to see you're still kicking. Hands are looking a little worse for wear though." I shrugged at him, my hands still swathed in bandages from Katina.

"Never better though. What brings you up here?" he chuckled as he gestured at one of the Cornerian shuttles.

"Who do you think was in charge of that lot? I've got another reason too." He instantly opened up his cargo pants pocket and pulled out a picture frame. I instantly recognized the frame, stashing the frame away without looking at it. "You left it in your apartment. Your old landlord was holding on to it." I nodded to him and smiled, turning toward peppy.

"Seen Fox lately?" he shook his head, both of us sighing as one.

"No. he's locked himself in his cabin." I nodded as Winters spoke back up.

"Um, what's going on?" I grunted as I responded before Peppy could.

"Just stressed out, all of us. And poor Fox has been having to watch us go into combat without him. Can't be easy." Winters grunted and nodded as silence fell on our small little group, techs still rushing by us.

"Well, I got to get going. Should be the last shuttle load once they're done." Peppy nodded and we both said our goodbyes to the Canine, watching him as he trotted onto one of the shuttles as it lifted off the deck plating.

"I'll see about talking to Fox later, once we're underway." Peppy nodded and got distracted by a soldier putting cargo on the elevator that wasn't going to the armory. I slipped away into the corridors of the ship, pulling the old photograph out of my pocket. The first man in the picture was an extremely large, dark skinned kid, only about seventeen when the picture was taken. His name was Jordan, and despite his large build, he had been a very friendly and gentle person. He had died just a few weeks after this picture was taken, in a car accident. The next person was a tiny Japanese girl, with jet black hair that almost always hid her round almond colored face, with this picture being the one of the few exceptions. She was only fifteen when the picture was taken, the youngest of the little band of friends. Beside her, with his arm still wrapped around her, was Kyle, peg leg and long haired still. I chuckled slightly, having forgotten what he had been like when he was seventeen. Beside him was the vibrant red head, Ashley. She was actually almost as tall as Jordan, a good two inches taller than Kyle beside her. She had glanced at him at just the wrong moment, her piercing green eyes still fixed on Kyle when the photo was taken. Beside Ashley, was a tall, blue eyed and brown haired teenager, not really scrawny like Kyle, but not huge like Jordan. The only thing Will recognized about the seventeen year old version of himself, was his eyes. Finally, my eyes slid over to the final member of the group, tears sliding out of my eyes when I saw her golden blonde hair. She had been leaning into me, my arms around her and our hands clasped as we smiled for the camera. I finally managed to tear my eyes away from the photo, realizing that I was standing in my room. I sighed and set the picture beside the model Arwing, dropping into the desk chair. More tears leaked out as memories of Amanda slipped through my mind.

"What's wrong?" Mira's voice made me jump. I closed my eyes after I glanced at her. She had just stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around her neck as she continued to dry her hair. I felt a hand on my shoulder as she spoke again. "Will?" I shuddered as I opened my eyes, instantly finding Amanda in the old photo.

"Just old wounds flaring up." Mira sat on the desk, the towel having already been discarded. She picked the picture up to look at it, taking it out of my sight.

"Amanda?" I nodded to her and she placed the picture back on the desk. Her body slipped off the desk as she pulled me into her arms. Even wet, her fur was still incredibly soft as I returned the hug, crying into her shoulder.

"I miss her… I still dream about her every night, no matter what I do." Mira stayed silent for a while, and I almost thought she wasn't going to speak when her voice slipped out of her mouth, no more than a whisper.

"Because you still think you are guilty of her death. You aren't. She made a choice to join the military. So did you. If you want to blame someone, blame the one who shot her." I pushed her way some so I could look her in the eye.

"I'm the one who ordered my men to hold that position. If I had followed my orders, she would still be alive!" she frowned, clearly fighting for what to say.

"And how many innocent lives would be dead? A hundred, a thousand? You made the right choice. And if she was here now, I guarantee you, that's what she would say." I stayed silent, looking away from her. She sighed and stood, leaning on the desk, just watching me. "Will, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, it isn't clear, sometimes, it is. But, all things, good and bad, happen for a reason. If she hadn't died, you would still be with the UEC, and I would be long dead. Your knowledge of UEC tactics and equipment have saved this teams asses more times than I can count. And I'm sure Robert's death had a reason, my parents deaths, that soldier on Sauria." I glanced up at her, realizing that she had started crying too. I shoved my emotions aside and did my best to lock them down, pulling her into hug as I stood.

"Mira, I hope your right." I gently kissed the still damp fur on her forehead, not wanting to ever let go of her again.

* * *

Fox rolled over and glared at the door as someone knocked on it. He pressed a pillow over his head as the person knocked again. Suddenly, the pillow was being ripped off his head and he found himself glaring at Will's calm expression.

"What the Fuck do you want Will?" he simply sat on one of the chairs, his face just as calm and expressionless.

"Someone needs to have a talk with you. And since everyone else is too scared of you shooting them, thought it might as well be me." Fox glared at him and rolled over, facing away from him.

"Just leave me the hell alone."

"I don't blame you for being angry Fox. You got dumped by someone you clearly loved, and I know I would be pretty damn stressed if I had to watch my friends go into combat without me." He didn't respond, again hoping he would just leave. "Krystal loves you Fox, as much as you love her. All you are doing by this, is shoving her farther away from you. I'm not saying you two can just 'kiss and make up' but you need to stop… this." Fox rolled over as Will spoke, seeing Will gesture toward him on his bed.

"And who died to make you the all-knowing mentor?" Will's face was like a stone as Fox finally sat up, facing him.

"If you really must know, forty eight Rangers, including the woman I loved. I can't tell you what's going to happen, or if you and Krystal will ever even be friends again. But I can tell you that stewing like this, shouting at anything that agitates you, yeah, it's easier, but all it does is dig you a deeper hole. Even without Krystal, you have a lot of people who care about you, and even more who are counting on you." Fox was silent as he stared at the floor, unwilling to look Will in the eye.

"Well, they are counting on the wrong person." Will grunted as he responded.

"I don't think they are." He swore as he stood and marched away from Will.

"I don't know why everyone relies on me! I've only ever gotten by on luck and circumstance. I'm not a good pilot, and if it wasn't for being surrounded by the best of the best, I would have failed long ago!" anger was starting to boil up in Fox's veins and he spun on the spot, expecting to see a shocked Will. Instead, he was just lounging in the chair, one eyebrow raised.

"Do you really believe that?" he nodded and Will continued. "Alright then, if you believe that, who killed Andross? Who led four fighters through an armada of venom cruisers to do so? Who led seven fighters toward the Aparoid queen?" Fox mumbled instead of speaking.

"I did." Will craned his neck, so one of his ears was facing Fox.

"What was that?" Fox spoke up, almost shouting it at him.

"I did! I fought Andross, I led those fighters!" Will nodded, almost instantly responding.

"So, what changed?" Fox froze, trying to think of an answer.

"I lost Krystal…" Will laughed mirthlessly when he said that, bringing the anger back.

"As far as I can tell, you hadn't even met Krystal when you went up against Andross. And last I checked, it wasn't Krystal that led the way down into the Aparoid home world, and you were just friends at the time, so I'll ask you again. What. Changed." Fox racked his brain, trying to find an answer.

"N-nothing." Will nodded as he stood and stretched.

"So, what excuse does that give you to treat the team like shit, and just as importantly, yourself like shit?" he sighed as he plopped back onto the bed.

"None." Will nodded and smiled, pulling him back onto his feet.

"Exactly. Now come on. Little one on one sparring, might do you some good. Get rid of that tension you got built up." Fox nodded and followed, still lost in thought at what he had said.

* * *

Mira sat curled by the window in the Great Fox's lounge, her tail wrapped around her thigh to rest on her lap. Her fingers gently stroked the bushy appendage, sending pulses of soft sensations through her body. She jumped slightly when to door to the room suddenly opened, shattering the still silence that had fallen over the room.

"Oh, hey will." Her voice slipped out without her prompting it as she recognized the burly figure that had stepped through. "Wait, what happened to you?" she leapt off the floor as she noticed the nasty bruising around his eye. His right arm also looked swollen to her and he was holding his side.

"Oh, just a sparring match with Fox. I'll be fine, hell all be gone in a few hours time. I've never been up here before." His voice was incredibly soft, almost like the small smile that slipped across his face as he moved up to the window. Blue and red light swam across his face, reflecting the colors of faster than light travel. She shuffled her feet beside him, suddenly unsure of what to say to him.

"I would've thought this would be the first place you would have gone. No one is ever up here, not even the original Star Fox members. And it has a beautiful view too." She couldn't help but smile as her eyes remained fixed on Will.

"Well, I don't need to leave my cabin for that." He bumped his arm into her as he spoke, his own eyes fixed on her. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she looked away, unable to keep from grinning.

"Oh yeah? And what view is that?' he chuckled as she spoke, her stomach seeming to twist and flip.

"Well, it's kinda small, furry, has this long bushy tail, mostly brown with some lighter tan sections, shy. But it has these…. Gorgeous sapphire blue eyes it just loves to hide from me." He wrapped his arms around her as he spoke, pressing his cheek up against the side of her head. "Although, that may just be it trying to hide it blushing." She leaned back into him and twisted her head around, managing to land a kiss on his cheek before he could react.

"When did you become such a flirt?" he just chuckled and released her with one of his arms, using his fingers to tickle behind one of her ears. He tightened his grip on her as he continued to tickle her, driving her nuts. She wiggled and squirmed as she tried to break free, giggling the whole time. "St-Stop it, please!" she barely managed to speak past the fits of giggles. He stopped and let go of her, allowing her to instantly bounce a few steps away, gasping for breath but unable to stop grinning. "Now why did you have to go and do that?" he just grinned at her and dropped onto one of the couches.

"Cause I felt like it." she rolled her eyes and dropped onto the couch beside him, instantly snuggling up to him. "Besides, you liked it." she glared at him, trying to suppress the grin that seemed to have locked itself on her muzzle.

"Regretfully, yes." He wrapped an arm over her and pulled her closer. Before long, she felt herself starting to nod off, her head comfortably resting on his chest.

"Mira…" she startled slightly at the sound of his whisper. "I just want to say thank you. Its been a long time since I've actually felt happy." She couldn't help but smile, feeling like her whole chest cavity had just melted.

"I wouldn't be happy with anything less, Will." She kissed his cheek again, this time noticing the very vibrant blush that spread across his face.

"Thank you Mira. Anyway, we better head back to our cabin." She gave him a puzzled look, pushing off from him to look at him. "Peppy told me and Fox that they are pushing the engines. Should only be a few hours from Sauria. Sleep is probably a good idea." She nodded and slipped off the couch so he could stand, walking beside him as they stepped out of the room. The lounge was located on the top deck, along with a kitchen and a gaming space to name a few of the other areas behind the bridge. It was all exclusively for the Star Fox team. They made their way to the elevators almost silently. She felt warm fingers interlace with hers as the doors closed and she couldn't help but smile. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, causing her to glance at him. He was smiling at her, his steel grey eyes seeming to just twinkle at her. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she returned the smile, moving with him out of the elevator. When they reached their cabin, Mira let go of his hand, plopping on her bed.

"So Will, you never answered my question." He glanced up at her, still dropping his leather jacket on the back of his chair.

"What question?" she playfully glared at him, waiting for it to hit him. "Oh, about the flirting." She nodded and kicked back, staring at the metal ceiling above her bunk. "Well, you know how I feel, so why hide it? Good night." he kissed her cheek as he said good night, flicking the light off and dropping onto his own bed to sleep. She watched his breathing slow down as he drifted off to sleep, unable to keep from smiling.


	19. Chapter 19: Electrical Turbulance

Fox couldn't help but yawn as they stood in the conference room, trying to look composed rather than tired. Which turned out to be much harder than it seemed.

"Alright remember, we will not be engaging the enemy. Electrical storms are too strong." Will's voice cut in before fox could continue.

"So what exactly do these storms do?" Fox typed a few commands into the holoprojector before he responded. It had been showing the area around the Krazoa palace, a massive storm cell swirling above it. It was now showing maintenance data on his old Arwing.

"The ones I encountered disrupted communications, navigation, and the storms are so thick you can't see past a few feet. Slippy figured out a counter for the nav problems, so we should be fine, but weapons and targeting are going to be inoperative. Low, fast and hopefully quiet. The UEC shouldn't have any idea we're here." Fox didn't even have time to finish speaking when Will had his hand in the air. "What is it?'

"Well, I know Jupiter's storms are a lot nastier than just mucking up nav data and comms, and Russian Bear Cats were designed specifically to operate with in Jupiter's atmosphere and storms. What do we do if they engage?" the others all seemed to shift nervously, and even Fox had to fight down a shudder.

"Well, then I guess we pray that doesn't happen. We launch in twenty, dismissed." The group nodded as one, Fox stopping Will before he could stand with the others. "A word, in private." Fox glanced meaningfully at Mira as he spoke. She nodded and left, leaving them as the only two in the conference room. "Are you two going to cause problems?" Will stared at him for a few seconds completely confused until it seemed to click in place.

"No sir, or, no more than the usual sir." Fox rolled his eyes as Will spoke, knowing that Will's reversion to military jargon was likely just a defensive reaction.

"First, cut the sir yes sir crap. Thought I already told you that. Second, make sure you don't go ape shit if something happens to her out there. Third, that rage shit from Katina, you got that under control yet?" Will looked away, looking almost ashamed.

"No. I don't." Fox nodded, sensing the sadness in his voice.

"Do you want me to pull you from the mission? It's up to you." He shuffled his feet as Fox spoke, still avoiding eye contact.

"I don't want to hurt anyone here, but I don't want to leave yall hanging either." Fox nodded and patted his shoulder as Fox moved toward the door.

"Well, it's your call. You got about twenty minutes to make a decision." Will stayed in the room as Fox left, taking one last look back at him.

* * *

Mira finished her preflight checks, glancing back at the doors to the hanger, utterly confused._ Why hadn't Will shown up yet? He should have been right behind Fox…._ She drummed her fingers on her fighter's dash, about to open a call on her wrist computer when he rushed into the hanger, his rifle bouncing loosely on its strap.

"Sorry I'm running late people. Couldn't find my assault pack." Something about the way he looked at Mira said that wasn't the truth. She waited until he had climbed up the ladder to the X-03 Arwing he was stuck flying before she called him over the wrist computers.

"What Mira?" he sounded annoyed with her for some reason as he fired his fighter up, running through a quick check list.

"You seem off, something up?" he glared at her through his canopy finishing off his checklist as he responded.

"No." as soon as he said that one, harsh word, the call was terminated by him. she sighed as she watched the mission timer count up from negative two minutes, marking when they were going to drop out of Warp and deploy. An idea popped into her head and she opened her wrist unit again, calling Krystal instead.

"Um, why are you calling me? We have radios?"

"Because this is personal, I need your telepathy." She heard Krystal sigh over the radio, probably already reading Mira's mind.

"If has something to do with Will, you know he can block out my telepathy, right?" Mira frowned as she responded.

"Just try, please. Something is bothering him, and he won't talk to me." She heard Krystal sigh again, making her heart sink.

"Maybe there is a reason he isn't telling you Mira." The mission clock slowly ticked closer to zero as she remained silent. "He shoved me out. Sorry Mira." Mira absently nodded and ended the call, Krystal's voice echoing in her head a few seconds later.

_Try not to worry about him, okay? Just focus on the mission for now, love can wait._

* * *

The timer on Katt's Head's up display reached zero and the entire ship seemed to grumble in protest as it dropped out of Warp. The hanger doors before her opened as Fox spoke, his voice not sounding like his usually confident self.

"All ships, launch." Her finger gently raised the holographic slider to lift her fighter off the deck, just before slamming the throttle forward and rocketing the fighter out of the bay. She was reassigned as Krystal's wingman, following Lucy having left the team, Saber taking over as Bill's wingman. They could clearly see a massive debris field floating above the storm cell. Fox had said during the briefing that only three allied ships remained, a cruiser and two destroyers, and massive numbers of UEC ships had been destroyed. Even if the storm wasn't messing with coms and targeting systems, the debris would be making it nigh impossible to get to good shooting locations. The fighter group raced past the field, dropping into the atmosphere at the edge of the storm. Rain pelted Katt's canopy as they dropped below the cloud cover, her cross-hair and HUD starting to freak out and glitch. Even her Holographic controls were affected by the energy currents, all but her navigation screen flickering and dying.

"Shit, you weren't kiddin' when you said these storms fuck with electronics." Sabre's voice was barely recognizable through the interference.

"Yeah, coms will be dropping out shortly. Trust your nav systems and eyes above al…." Fox's voice turned to static before he could continue, Katt shutting her radio down. The deafening roar of the rain pounding on her canopy alone would be enough to drown out any voices in her earpiece, let alone the comms black out.

"Well, at least landing in this shit is going to be fun." Katt let herself speak aloud as she glanced at Krystal's Arwing, only a few meters port of her, and all but the light of her engines and G-diffusers obscured by the rain.

_Actually, landing will be much easier than getting there. There is a safe zone around the palace, a barrier of sorts, that causes the rain and storm to be more, normal._ Katt nearly jumped as Krystal's voice echoed in her head, having never actually felt her telepathy.

"Damn, how did Fox ever get used to that?" Katt's question was clearly ignored as lightning shot across the sky in frighteningly frequent intervals, lighting up the ghostly shapes of the fighters as they raced through the rain. Every hair on her body stood on end as her electronics shorted, a lightning bolt ripping between herself and Krystal.

"Son of a… that was close." Her electronics flickered back to life, just before shorting again as lighting shot past her canopy, causing her to instantly juke toward Krystal. For a split second, she thought they were going to collide, but Krystal pitched up and slammed on her G-Diffusers. The bright glow was illuminated behind Katt for a split second before four separate bolts slammed into Krystal's fighter. Explosions highlighted her fighter for a split second before it tumbled out of the sky, instantly disappearing.

"Krystal!" she was about to dive downward when a bolt struck one of her own G-Diffusers, blasting it apart and sending her fighter spinning wildly out of control.

* * *

Fox saw the fiery flashes of Katt and Krystal's Arwings behind him and cursed. _What the hell is going on?_ Random thoughts shot through his brain, trying to think of the odds of a lightning strike not only hitting a fighter, but pumping enough energy into it to cause explosive shorting of it's systems. Lightning seemed to be slamming down all around them, leaving the rest of the air in the distance relatively calm, with the exception of Mira's fighter. He could only barely make out it's outline whenever a flash streaked by Will's craft. Suddenly, something seemed to click in place in his mind as he shouted, flicking the emergency shut down for his fighter.

"Krystal! If you can hear me, tell the others to turn off their G-Diffusion Systems, I think the lightning is attracted to it somehow!" he felt her enter his mind for a split second as he rebooted his fighter, not turning the G-Diffusers back on as he did so. He had dropped behind Falco while his fighter was off, and he saw the green lights of his G-diffusers shut down. The second they did, the lightning started to spread away from them, flashing high above them in the clouds instead of amongst them.

_Fox, don't try to come back for me. The second you activate those G-diffusers, your toast, and we will both be stuck out here. Do. Not. Come. Back. I'll try to link up with Katt and work my way toward the palace._ Fox cursed as he double checked his Nav, almost needlessly as the storm started to clear before him, revealing the rain soaked Krazoa Palace. Chunks had been blown off since they had last been here, and one of the many turrets had collapsed. Blue and silver plasma fire lanced back and forth, both on the palace and off, marking active combat. He gracefully arced his fighter around the palace, avoiding putting any heavy g-forces on himself so he didn't need the G-diffusers. The make shift hanger was still tarped over, but holes in the tarp showed where mortar fire had ripped through, blowing chunks through the rock and into the palace below. His finger hovered over the button to activate the G-diffusers as he aimed for the opening, waiting for the last possible second to activate them. He lurched in his seat when he hit the button, already holding the rudder pedals in to apply the brakes. As soon as he could find a clear enough spot, he forcible set his fighter on the hard stone, crushing hull plates and firing circuitry. The canopy opened as the rest of his team crash landed with various force, all except Mira whose fighter was able to gently set down without the G-Diffusers. He slid out as Will trotted over to a container at the back wall of the hanger, left there by the Star Fox team.

"Holy shit, you Star Fox guys are crazy!" a Canine soldier came trotting over from a stairwell, shouting over the sound of the rain.

"Not all of us made it! What are the chances of launching a search and rescue!?" the canine shook his head, staring at him in disbelief.

"No Damned way! The UEC are in the palace! We need to secure these positions!" Fox's attention was grabbed by the sound of thrusters firing, glancing over to see Will firing up a heavily modified Jet Bike that Fox almost didn't recognize.

"If the storm is attracted to G-Diffusers, then most UEC heavy ground won't be operational, including Powered armor. This will be. Two people could head out and find Katt and Krystal, maybe wreck some havoc behind their lines." Fox couldn't help but smirk as he inspected the vehicle. Although similar to what he had found on Sauria in the Sharp Claw's possession, it was much more advanced, with three thrusters along the bottom, giving it limited flight abilities. He had added a folding ring mount that a second person could sit up in, manning a Cornerian Plasma repeater, a tri-barreled high-powered cannon. He had also upgraded the thrusters from fusion torches to ion engines, massively increasing its maneuverability.

"Alright, Will, I want you in charge here. Push the UEC out. I'll go find our downed pilots." Sabre was speaking as he moved to mount the gunner's position.

"I'm going with you." Falco grabbed his tail to stop him while Fox climbed into the pilot's position, practically lying on his belly.

"Oh no you don't, two of my best friends are down there dogbreath." Sabre was reaching for his pistol when Fox practically shouted.

"Sabre! Stand down! Me and Falco will find the others. I need you here supporting the local forces, because you are a better fighter in close quarters!" Falco slipped into the mount as Sabre snarled and stormed off, clearly anger.

"Hey Fox, good luck, and let me know how Miss Sally does out there." Fox nodded and gunned the engines, shooting off the parapets and basically falling down the mountainside.

* * *

Falco barely had time to slide his goggles in place before Fox had gunned the engines, sending them flying off the mountain. He couldn't help but grin as they plummeted toward the ground, arcing into the trees to avoid most of the rain. No silvery bolts ripped past them, much to falco's surprise.

"Well, Fox, you got a plan for finding them?" Falco settled into the shooting position, his elbows braced on two pads that were on the mount. The gun itself was normally able to be carried by an infantrymen, and filled the role of a squad support weapon.

"Well, electrical interference is much lower near the ground. If we get close enough, we may be able to detect their emergency beacons." Falco nodded, scanning the forest for any sign of movement. Silvery plasma bolts started ripping past them as they passed enemy positions. Falco attempted to fire back, bursts of red plasma rounds ripping through the trees. He didn't even know if he managed to hit any of the soldiers, the speeder being long past before he could see the results of his shots. A pair of small vehicles took off after them, lightning ripping down and destroying one of the small two man assault vehicles before Falco could even get the turret mount turned around. As soon as he did, he set the weapon to fire all three barrels at once, instead of the unlinked rapid fire, for a more powerful blast. Silver bolts ripped past as the bike was juked and weaved through the trees, throwing off Falcos aim. He cursed and fired again, this time nailing the other vehicle's weapon. The craft tried to fire again, only to have the weapon explode. The vehicle careened into a tree and detonated, spraying the jungle with shrapnel.

"Hey Falco! I got Katt's beacon!" he couldn't help but grin as Fox changed course. After a few minutes, the bike slowed to a stop, bits of metal and Arwing parts scattered amongst the trees. The main hull had smashed through and was almost completely buried in the slick mud formed from the heavy rain. The canopy was open, the cockpit inside filled with water. The two of them climbed off the bike, Falco headed for the canopy, instantly looking inside. The instrument panel had blown, exposing wires and components, and the seat had rips in it, chunks of metal sticking out of them.

"Damn, I hope she made it out okay." Fox glanced up from the mud as Falco spoke, not even looking in the cockpit.

"Well, I got a few tracks. Too dissolved to follow, but we know she's moving. We should split up. Tracks lead roughly that way, I'll take the bike and head for Krystal's beacon. If you find Katt, come back here and stay put." Falco nodded, unslinging his sniper rifle as Fox mounted the jet bike, spraying mud and water as he gunned the engines. Falco sighed as he took one last glance at the wrecked Arwing before he sloshed into the forest.

* * *

Krystal rubbed her sore collarbone from where she had been slammed into the harness. Although still rough, she had managed to crash in a clearing. She audibly cursed as her soaked fur and clothes weighed on her throbbing muscles, the heavy rain easily pounding through the thick foliage. Her feet slipped all over the place in the muck beneath her boots, slowing her progress. Suddenly, her mind managed to find Katt amongst the numerous wildlife that filled Sauria. She smiled and managed to quicken her pace, not noticing that something seemed off with Katt. Krystal crested a small rise, seeing Katt down below, leaning on a tree below her. she slid down the steep hill, already hollering.

"Hey Katt!" Katt looked up when she shouted, her hand wrapped around something on her stomach. Krystal rushed forward, suddenly worried about her. "Katt! Are you…" Krystal's voice dropped out as Katt slid down the tree, her breath in ragged gasps. Her outfit was ripped in several places, small traces of blood showing through, including a water washed gash on her cheek. But what scared Krystal, was the long jagged shard of metal sticking into her gut, the uniform around it already stained with blood.

"Kry…Krystal…help." Krystal instantly reached for the small aid kit she normally carried, only to find it gone. She cursed and slung one of Katt's arms over her shoulder, pulling her up to her feet.

"Comeon, I gotta get you some help." Katt didn't respond, her head hanging limply. Krystal sighed, hoping she could get her to the palace without incident. Her feet slipped around even worse now that she was supporting almost all of Katt's weight. Just the slope out of the gully they had been in was near impossible to climb out of. The ground beyond the gully was covered in thick foliage, helping harden the earth and helping her to move better. Before she could get even twenty meters through the foliage, slivery plasma bolts started ripping through the trees. "Fuck!" human shouts echoes past her as she tried to rapidly drag Katt through the forest, not even bothering to try to return fire. Katt groaned with almost every step, occasionally whimpering as the Human soldiers drew closer to them. Krystal swore again, knowing the humans would easily catch them at this rate. Her head snapped around, seeing a gully formed by a group of ferns. She slipped into it, laying Katt on the ground and trying to cover her up.

"D-Don't G-go. P-please." She placed a single finger on Katt's mouth before leaping out of the gully, firing a burst from her SMG at the approaching soldiers. She heard them shout, firing bolts past her as she sprinted through the trees, trying to stay just ahead of them. suddenly, bolts started ripping out from in front of her, forcing her to slide to the ground.

"Son of a bitch." The curse slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it, trying to stay flat to the ground as silver bolts ripped at the mud and hissed through the rain.

"Give up! You got nowhere to….." the shout was cut off by an incredibly loud flurry of rapid blasts, red bolts ripping overhead at an incredible rate. She heard a few of the humans shouting to fall back as she searched the area with her mind, totally bewildered as to who attacked them. she felt Fox and for a split second, had a surge of joy, cut off by anger at him coming back for her.

"Krystal!? Katt!? Either of you down there!" Krystal stood, trying to brush mud out of her soaked fur. "Krystal!" she barely had time to turn when he came sprinting into the gully, instantly wrapping his arms around her. she shoved him off her, already glaring.

"What the hell do you think you are doing! I told you to leave us! That we could handle ourselves!" before he could respond, she slammed her palm into his face and started to march back toward Katt.

"Krystal! Wait! I have a ride so will you just slow down!?" Krystal stopped and glared at him again, her hands on her hips as he trotted back into the trees, coming back on a heavily modified jet bike. She slipped into the back turret position as she mentally showed Fox where to go. He didn't respond, just drove the bike there, only taking seconds. "Go get Katt." She slipped off the bike, slipping down into the gully she had hidden Katt in. her heart leapt into her throat as she saw the gully empty, the fern braches she had used as cover knocked carelessly aside.

"Fox! Katt is gone!"

* * *

Mira followed Will and the Cornerian soldier through the winding stone passages of the Krozoa Palace. They had passed a few side chambers as they moved through the corridors, most being used as makeshift aid stations or armories. They finally arrived in a large, well lit chamber with eight large columns holding the ceiling up. In the center of the chamber was a dormant holo-table covered in paper maps, most of them looking like they were made of parchment. Around the table was a handful of CDF soldiers and at least three massive Earthwalkers. A stark white vulpine in light fatigues and a light chest plate stood beside the largest of the dinosaurs, clearly the local CDF commander.

"Colonel, I got Star Fox here. Or well, half of them." The vulpine looked up as the soldier that had been guiding them spoke.

"Good. I am Colonel Blackburn." Will stepped up beside him and shook his hand, patting the Dinosaur's flank at the same time.

"Will Hawkins, Ground commander for the Star Fox team. Hey tricky." The massive dino smirked at him as the colonel continued.

"Alright, we got a lot of problems. I don't know how four soldiers are supposed to help but. Without air support, the UEC have breached the palace and control this entire area." The Colonel circled a large portion of the inner palace as he spoke. The map was covered in squares and triangles, each with a number beside it. The triangles were within the circle he had made and surrounded the whole palace. "We also are losing ground rapidly at every entry point. I give it a day, maybe even just a few hours, before they over take the palace." Will balanced his rifle's stock on his hip as he spun the map to look at it. He was silent for what seemed like minutes before he spoke.

"The UEC is going to focus on distracting you at the entry points while it reinforces this group already in the palace. Then it will use that group to deliver the killing blow. What do we have as far as ordinance?" the colonel sighed as he shuffled through a PDA, dropping it in front of Will.

"Mostly just carried munitions, though we've captured a lot of C4 and human grenades. A few land masters but they are out of action from the storm." Will smirked as he grabbed a pen off the table.

"We can use the C4 to block enemy access here, here and here. That will massively reduce the enemy's attempts to advance, freeing up forces to create a pincher here, cut off this force here. They may have tanks, but infantry are the bane of armor when properly applied. Once the interior force has been cut off, we reinforce and block every route we can and skirmish the forces here until they surrender. Force this small won't have reserve supplies, just what they carry which won't last long. Then they should surrender. That will let us divert forces to the remaining approaches, buy us more time for this storm to blow over and drop the real hammer on their asses." Colonel Blackburn nodded, turning toward the other people around them.

"King Tricky, I need your warriors to get the explosives to these points. Captain Woods, get runners to get orders to the troops. Hawkins, where will you be?" Will smirked as he pointed at the two launch points for the pincher attack.

"Myself and Mira will take the eastern point. Saber, take Bill to the southern point. We support the trouble spots, link up in the middle. Got that?" Mira nodded with the others as the colonel spoke again, drawing their attention.

"Bill, the leader in your section is Lieutenant Wilder. Will, Sergeant Major Graves." Mira gave the colonel a puzzled look, saber seeming to voice what all of them were thinking.

"You guys must be desperate if you have a sergeant in command of a whole combat sector." Blackburn just smirked as he responded.

"Graves has been fighting since before the Lylat Wars. He wont take orders from most lower commanders and with damn good reason. Now get moving." Will signaled for them to follow as he strode away.

"Bill, Saber, be careful, keep your heads down. Got it?" they nodded and split away as will stopped, facing her. "Same goes to you. Keep your head down, and don't do anything reckless, okay?" Mira laughed and shoved on his shoulder plate, smiling at him.

"You too Will. You are the reckless one after all." He smiled back to her as they began moving through the halls. She was surprised at how short it took to get to sector, finding themselves on an open air balcony, ducking plasma fire as they ran between sandbag emplacements.

"Hey, soldier, we're looking for a Sergeant Major Graves! Where is he!?" the private smirked and pointed to a lowered parapet, where a group of soldiers were all hunkered down. One of these soldiers, unlike the others, was calmly pacing back and forth, entirely exposed to the plasma rounds whipping past. The man was massively built, a good six inches taller than Will, taller than Falco even. His uniform and body armor looked like it was about to burst at the seams from the mass of muscle beneath. A plasma round clipped his helmet as they watched. He casually tugged it off, checking the damage before tossing the ruined piece of equipment aside. "Damn, he looks like a friggan Rottweiler." She glanced at him for a second before they slipped down the slick steps leading to him.

"What in sam hell is a human doin up here!?" the Sergeant had turned toward them as they spoke, revealing a long, jagged scar across his face and muzzle, stretching from near one of his pointed ears, between his eyes and down his muzzle, barely missing his nose. His brown eyes seemed to burn with fury as Will responded.

"We're members of Star Fox. And we're here to help you push the UEC off this mountain."

* * *

Specialist Cal Reynolds slowly let his breath out as he sighted his personal sniper rifle in on a UEC machine gunner below. He did one last check of the wind's power before he gently squeezed the trigger, his rifle bucking up against his shoulder as a loud crack reverberated through the area. His hand instinctively worked the bolt on his custom made sniper rifle, as he found the target in his scope again, seeing the man's left eye being nothing but a bloody cavity, blood mixing with the mud and rock beneath the corpse.

"Just as good as always Cal." He smirked as he spoke to himself, sliding off the pile of rubble he had been lying on and away from the hole an arty shell had blown in the stone walls of the palace.

"Reynolds! Put that thing away and get your ass over here!" he glanced down at the hall below him, seeing Graves and his Staff Sergeant, leading the platoon through the hall. Marching alongside them was a human soldier, his armor and uniform in a strange grey and black pixel like camouflage, and lacking any kind of unit or national patch, like the men they were fighting. He moved with his weapon raised slightly, stock lightly tucked into his shoulder, legs bent slightly, like he was always ready for a fight. Following just beside him was a female hybrid, her very curved body showing even under the thick combat vest. Her cargo pants did a surprisingly good job showing off her legs, her bare arms showing off the dark tan color of her fur. She had a vulpine tail and a sort, slender muzzle, almost like a feline's.

"Hey Ian. Now who is this gorgeous gal we got here." He smirked at her, knowing that most women could not resist to smile back. This one, seemed to be one of the few, simply raising an eyebrow at him.

"She's a member of Star Fox. Now quit drooling and move Cal." He glanced over at the short, burly figure that had spoken this time, grunting at him.

"What, run out of things to fix Lou?" Staff Sergeant Louis Bickell was frankly not much of a fighter, preferring to hang back and keep the company's vehicles and equipment running at tip top shape. But lately, with the number of losses the unit had, he had been picking up a rifle and fighting with them, usually hanging back to provide cover fire with the SAW gun he tended to prefer. Aside from that, the brown and white wooly Canine was the heart of the company, his usually compassionate and caring nature earning everyone's respect.

"We need every gun we can get in this fight. That includes yours Cal." Before Cal could respond, Graves was barking at them again, already a good way past the rubble pile.

"Can it you two! We got a mission to complete!" Cal shrugged and slung his rifle, pulling a small carbine off the small of his back and trotting up to just behind the female hybrid, brushing some of his hair to the side to make sure it was still the way he liked it. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched her bushy tail flick back and forth as she walked, drawing him into a sort of trance until Grave's booming voice broke through it.

"Reynolds! Hump your ass up those stairs and use that over priced piece of tin you got to cover us! Lou, go with him!" he sighed, taking one last glance at the woman he had been following. Her sapphire eyes glanced at him for the barest trace of a second before they flicked to the other Star Fox member.

"I'll be up there with them. Should be able to get a few good grenade rounds from up there." He didn't recognize the voice that was speaking as it continued. "Mira, stay down here, help where you can." A few seconds later, the human came jogging up the stairs after them, his long rifle balanced loosely in his hands.


	20. Chapter 20: The Battle for Sauria

Cal folded out the bi-pod for his sniper rifle adjusting the focus on his scope as the rest of the platoon shifted into a section of the palace that had been reduced to nothing more than rubble by enemy artillery. This was also where the leading edge of the UEC forces inside the palace had bunkered down, using the longer sightlines to employ their heavy tanks and longer ranged rifles to their greatest advantage. He smiled as he focused the scope of his rifle on the hybrid girl's rear, guessing that her name was Mira by the words he had overheard.

"Damn that is one fiiine ass she got there. Would love a pi…." His mutter was cut off sharply as he felt a hand smack the back of his head, nearly pounding his eye into the rifle scope. "Ow, what the hell was that for, dick?" he glared at the human as he spoke, the human returning with a far deadlier expression on his face.

"Get your scope off my team mate's ass. I'm sure she'd rather not have a jumpy grunt put a round through it." He couldn't help but smirk as he quietly responded to himself, shifting his rifle to start scanning for enemy positions.

"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind _this _grunt putting a few rounds in her." He cringed as the human spoke yet again.

"I can hear you dog boy." Finally, Lou's voice joined the conversation, speaking across Cal at the human.

"Good luck on getting him to stop. He's always like this." The human grunted just before an explosion drew the trio's attention. The explosion was from a Cornerian missile launcher, destroying a UEC tank. Cal shifted his rifle, lining up on a UEC machine gunner. Before he could squeeze the trigger, a silvery plasma bolt ripped out from beside him and slammed into the soldier's chest.

"What, can't line up a two fifty yard shot that quick?" Cal glared at the human as the human calmly squeezed off round after round.

"No, just watch and learn human." He lined up on a soldier and fired. Without even checking if he had a hit, he worked the bolt and fired again. After the fifth round, the weapon emptied, one round having already been fired. He quickly reloaded, glancing over to see the human bracing his rifle on the balcony rail, almost like it was a machinegun. The human reloaded his own rifle before canting it skyward. Confused, Cal looked up, only to jump at the sound of a loud thump beside him. The lower, larger barrel on the human's rifle had fired, sending a projectile arcing through the air, slow enough to clearly see. It hit the ground and detonated, blasting a UEC position apart. "Damned show off." The human grunted as Cal resumed firing. The UEC defenses fell surprisingly fast, given they had seemed almost impenetrable just a few hours earlier.

"Oh no…. Graves! Pull back and hunker down! They are luring you in!" Cal glanced at him as Graves voice echoed back through the radio.

"Oh hell!" as he said that, a heavy tank rolled out from behind debris, firing its main cannon. It blasted a pair of Cornerians apart, the rest scattering. Cal saw the Anti-tank Specialist fire, his missile detonating harmlessly on the tank's angled hull.

"Damn it! That thing will tear them apart!" the turret adjusted again as the human spoke, aiming at the missile trooper. The soldier tried to hide behind a piece of rubble, but the tank shot simply ripped clean through the stone, obliterating the trooper.

"Alright, we're officially fucked." Cal couldn't help but say that as the tank's co-axial plasma cannon fired hundreds of rounds at the friendly forces, scattering them into whatever cover they could find. A feminine voice he didn't recognize came over the radio.

"Will! Any ideas on how to beat this thing?" the human beside him cursed before he answered.

"No, I got nothing, sorry." The woman sighed over the radio. Cal silently cursed to himself, hoping the tank didn't try to fire on them.

* * *

Mira glanced around her, her mind racing for ideas as silvery plasma bolts mixed with the occasionally larger blue bolt from the tank's main cannon. She glanced out of her cover, watching a grenadier pull a grenade from his bandolier on his chest.

"Wait, I got an idea!" she took a deep breath before scrambling out of the shallow crater she had taken cover in, made even more difficult by the tight grip she had on her carbine. Plasma ripped past her, singeing and blackening her fur as she slid behind a piece of rubble.

"Mira! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she shrugged off Will's radio call as she sprinted out of cover again. Right as she left, the rubble was blasted to pieces by a tank round.

"Just trust me Will!" she spoke as she slid on her knees and dropped to her stomach, right into another crater. Mud and water splashed up at her as she crawled through.

"Mira, you better not have some re-" She shut her radio off, completely cutting him out before scrambling back to her feet and clumsily sliding next to the grenadier.

"Your grenade belt, now!" he stared at her, confused, causing her to simply rip the belt clean off the man, loosely carrying it in her left hand as she sprinted for the next piece of cover, headed for the tank itself now. The tank's turret turned toward her, forcing her to dive behind what little remained of a stone wall, scraping her arm and hip on the jagged fragments around it. The tank gun fired, punching a hole clean through the wall and missing her by less than half a meter. She screamed as the heat seared her unprotected arms, legs and head. She heard an explosion and glanced through the hole in the stone to see the turret turning toward the balcony Will was on, a fresh burn on the turret. She swore and slipped over the wall, the burning hot stone stinging her rear and tail. One easy leap and she was on top of the tank, charging up the carbine and firing it into the top hatch. The over powered blast cut through, and she armed one of the grenades before dropping the whole bandolier into the red hot remnants of the hatch. As soon as the belt left her hand, she leapt off the tank. The second she left the metal, the grenades detonated, blasting her away. Searing pain filled her entire body as she landed in a heap on the ground. A dull ring filled her ears as she lay on the ground, unwilling to move. A moan issued from her mouth as something grabbed her arm.

"Mira!" she was turned over as Will clearly shouted, his voice barely audible over the ringing.

"I'm fine Will." A sigh slipped out of his mouth as she spoke, his entire body relaxing. She could see a single tear trace a dark line in the shoot that covered his face and body. She started to move only to find that her body was hurting too much, a sharp ping of pain echoing from her hip. Another soft moan issued from her as she moved her hand to investigate what was wrong. the source of the pain was a small, jagged piece of metal, that the second she touched it, sent a pulse of pain through her.

"Ow. I think the medic needs a medic." She saw him smile and roll his eyes just before he rolled her over to inspect the wound. Most of her body felt like she had been cooked, stinging whenever she moved.

"Well, it doesn't look to bad but, I have to pull you pants down to treat it. This is gonna hurt, sorry." She felt him grab the shard and gently pull it out, sending a wave of pain through her, causing her to whimper as he did so. A single tear slipped out of her eye from it, the wound bringing up memories of Noriega's knife. She undid the buckle on her pants, letting him pull one side down beneath the injury, revealing much more of her privates than she would normally be comfortable with. The stinging injury seemed to cool a little as he lathered some sort of gel on it, then taped a small piece of gauze over the injury before he helped her slide her pants over it. "There, that should hold you till we get back to Townsend. Think you can walk?" she nodded as she rolled over, letting him help her to her feet. Her hip still ached but the jolts of pain were gone. The rest of her body still stung, but she could fight through that.

"Yeah, I'm good to go." He hugged her, gently kissing the side of her muzzle before burying his face in her fur.

"Damn it, you scared the shit out of me right there." She smiled as he spoke, tightening her grip on him.

"And you weren't scared of the tank shooting at you?" she felt him shrug just before he backed off.

"Of course not, I'm used to that." She chuckled as he finally released her, scooping her rifle out of a shallow puddle and passing it to her. A very thin Cornerian soldier stepped up behind Will, a large custom built sniper rifle resting in his hands. He had a very thin long muzzle and mostly brown fur, with white along the underside of his muzzle, leading toward his chest. His small brown eyes were partially covered by his fairly long brown hair, his two triangular ears sticking out from under it.

"Cal Reynolds, but you can just call me Cal." He smirked at her, making her want to smile back, just like the last time he had. Whether she would openly admit it or not, she found him very attractive, even covered in dirt as he was. "Graves asked me to tell you two that we are moving out. Humans pulled back when gorgeous here blew up the tank." She fought down her blushing and the smirk she felt coming on as Will nodded to him.

"Thanks. Well, let's get going." Mira nodded as Will spoke, following him toward the rest of the group. The platoon started moving at a light trot, forcing the two of them to speed up to reach the front. Mira gave Will a worried glance as his breath started to come in ragged gasps.

"Will, are you okay?" he barely glanced at her as he responded, worrying her even more.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just stay focused on the mission okay?" she didn't respond, simply watching him. Her thoughts ran wild, trying to think if she had ever seen him like this. Before she could think on it more, they had moved back inside, no longer exposed to the rain. But this was only for a brief moment, since the path opened up to an ornate balcony, running along a rectangular courtyard. This courtyard was clearly almost sixty meters long, and almost forty wide. Inside it, were several tents.

"Get Do-!" Will's half heard shout ripped out before she could notice anymore, his body slamming into her. His shout had been cut off by a tremendous amount of noise, coinciding with the silvery blue streak of plasma that ripped through the ornate railing, narrowly missing them, and slamming into the roof of the hallway they had just exited. Stone and debris collapsed into the hallway, totally blocking it off as Will shoved her to her feet. "RUN!"

* * *

Katt fought to open her eyes, feeling someone's arms cradling her off the ground.

"H-Help…." Her voice was incredibly weak, barely audibly to her over the sound of the pouring rain.

"Hey, you are going to be fine Katt. I'm getting you to help." She managed to open her eyes enough to see Falco's beak. He smiled at her, drops of water sliding down his feathers and beak. She couldn't help but smile as she glanced around, seeing the wreck of her fighter before them. Her eyes slid closed again, starting to drift off again.

"I'm sorry Fox, I gotta break your orders." She almost thought she had imagined his voice before he began moving again.

* * *

I glanced up at the two Cornerians on our side of the rubble as they scrambled to their feet. A rapid burst of plasma fire ripped through them as I yanked Mira to her feet.

"Run!" she needed no second invitation, taking off at a sprint. Pain ripped through my right side as I fought to keep up, slowly falling farther and farther behind. Plasma rounds ripped past us, blowing chunks from the wall and railing on impact. There was another resounding boom as the tank's cannon fired again, the floor beneath me giving way.

"Will!" I barely heard her shout as I tumbled down the debris, landing in a heap. "Will! Are you okay!?" Mira had crawled up to the edge formed when it collapsed, unable to be hit by the tank's weapons.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I peeked out from under the rubble to see the tank, recognizing the flat, angled hull as another M4A3, a heavy tank that laughed at everything the Cornerian's could throw at it. "We need to kill that tank. Cornerian weapons won't work, ideas?!" I watched as she peeked up enough to see.

"I can see what looks like vehicles under a tarp. Think they would help?" I shrugged, using her looking around to reach back and feel the source of the pain in my side. My hand came back dyed a deep crimson. I fought the urge to curse and tried to get a decent breath to speak with.

"I'll distract it. You… you go see what's under that tarp." She peeked back over the edge to look at me, a worried look in her eyes.

"Are you sure you are alright?" I glared up at her as I pointed away.

"I'm fine, now go, now!" as I spoke, I popped out from behind the rubble, firing a fully automatic burst at the tank. Most of the rounds just singed the ablative armor, but, a pair of the silvery bolts managed to hit the commander, who had been sticking out of the top hatch to fire the top-mounted rotary cannon. He slumped back down as I tried to run along the underside of the balcony, column's ripping past as the tank's turret traversed after me. A tank shot flashed in front of me, knocking me off my feet as the gun leveled on me. I shot away, through the smoke and debris, narrowly dodging a second shot. My vision started to blur and swim as my chest heaved, unable to draw breath. Intense pain radiated away from the small rip in my side, and I could feel the blood soaking my uniform. My feet slowed to a stop before I sank to my knees, simply fighting for air. The tank cannon leveled on me, and a split second before it fired, a wooly brown mass slammed into me, knocking me over.

"What the hell were you… oh shit." I barely managed to turn my head enough to see Lou's face, one massive hand covered in a crimson liquid. He easily shifted me onto his shoulder as the dust from the cannon shot began to dissipate, running for a pile of rubble. Rapid fire shots ripped into the stone, tearing chunks out as a pair of UEC soldiers stepped out of a side hall. I instinctively aimed and fired, fear leaping into my gut when my weapon didn't discharge. Lou reacted almost as fast as I did, bringing his massive saw gun to bear and shredding the two soldiers. "Hang in there man, you're gonna be fine."

"M-m-Mira… have… to… d-d-distract… t-tank." I fumbled with the bolt on my rifle, barely managing to replace the magazine through the thick fog that had filled my brain. I struggled against Lou so I could shoot at the tank, managing to get a view of it just as a green and purple set of lights shot at it, a figure falling away from the lights and tumbling on the ground. "Mira!" I managed a hoarse shout with a sudden burst of strength, shoving Lou off. After a few steps, I slowed to a stop, sinking to my knees again, just as a series of rapid booms filled my ears. Lightening was raining down on the tank, the energy of it blasting the tank apart as my vision turned black. My body crumpled to the floor as a voice came to me from the end of a very long tunnel.

"Will!"

* * *

"Damn it! she was right here! I…. how could I just let them…damn it!" Fox watched helplessly as Krystal paced back and forth through the ditch she had hidden Katt in, startling slightly when she lashed out at a tree with her foot.

"Maybe Falco found her. We can at least go check at her Arwing, that's where I told him to wait if he found her." Krystal stopped and stared at him for a few seconds, tears clearly filling her eyes. After a minute or so, she nodded to him and he remounted the bike, waiting patiently for her to climb into the gun mount. "Krystal?"

"What Fox?" his gaze remained fixed on her as he spoke, whereas, she was already searching the surrounding area.

"We'll find her. Okay?" she glanced at him for a second, pain flashing through her eyes before she nodded. Fox's attention returned to the front of the bike as he fired it back, floating a few feet in the air before gunning the engine. Controlling jet bikes, especially semi-flight capable ones, was a challenge. The two handle pieces in the driver's hands controlled the vertical thrust on the craft. Both handles were on gyros, making it even more complex. Sliding the gyros forward or back changed the pitch, up and down changed the vertical thrust on that side of the bike. The two pedals the user's feet rested on controlled the twin engines on the back for forward movement. Simply put, it took months of practice to become even proficient on a jet bike. Luckily for Fox, he had been driving them since he was a teenager. He felt Krystal creep back into his mind for the first time in weeks, a slight pang of fear echoing from her that seemed to slowly settle as Fox pushed the bike faster and faster until he released the thrust and yanked back and up on the two handles, pitching the nose up and using the bottom thrusters to almost instantly slow the vehicle down. His eyes were already searching the crash site for any signs of Falco or Katt as he set the bike in stand by and slipped off the bike.

"Katt!" Fox nearly jumped at Krystal's shout, just before he started shouting with her. "Falco! Katt!" the only response they got was the sound of the rain hammering the trees and ground around them. Fox cursed to himself before sitting on the crumpled nose of the Arwing.

"Well, any ideas Krys?" she didn't even glance at him as he spoke, her eyes still searching the surrounding trees.

"I…. Well, my telepathy is almost useless. There is so much life in these forests, even with the battle going on. I doubt I can find either of…" her voice suddenly cut off, her eye's closing as she slipped into a sort of trance, an intense expression on her face. "I…. I can feel… someone! I can't tell who, but it is definitely a person!" Fox shot to his feet as she spoke, her eyes opening back up.

"Well, take the reins and lead us there!" he was only half way to the bike when her voice stopped him cold.

"Fox, I can't. you know I can't drive those things for anything." He glanced back her and smiled, almost the exact opposite of her saddened expression.

"Then show me the way." She nodded and slipped back into the gun mount, just before Fox gunned the engines. Her presence in his mind grew until it was almost as if he was receiving input from two sets of eyes at once, able to focus them into a single cohesive unit. Almost like one person with two bodies. What Fox nor Krystal knew, was that it was very rare for any telepath to be able to form this kind of bond, and even rarer still that the telepath could find someone else who's brain pattern matched their own enough to do it. Almost as if he was Krystal, he started to feel the creature's around him, her mind honing them both in on whoever she had sensed. Trees flashed past at an incredibly rate as he easily dodged and weaved through them, missing trees by inches. Suddenly, the trees disappeared from beside them, literally blasted down. A pair of UEC soldiers were marching through the flattened foliage, right where Krystal had felt something. She was instantly firing, Fox seeing both the weapons sights, and the red beams lancing out. There was a brief moment of pain flaring from the soldiers, disappearing as they collapsed dead. Fox could feel Krystal's sudden feeling of helplessness and anguish, seeming to rip through both of them. He brought the craft to a stop, slowly this time. They had drifted over a massive section of earth that was nothing but ash.

"Wh-What did this?!" their eyes roamed across a massive expanse of ash and craters, only broken by the occasional fire, and a group of pre-fab structures at the far side.

"Orbital Bombardment. It's why we only use it if it is absolutely necessary." Fox sighed as he spoke, slipping off the bike again and running his fingers through the ash. He had seen devastation like this years ago, during the Lylat wars, but never in person.

"Well, Maybe they took Katt to that base?" Fox glanced up at Krystal as she scanned the base with a high-definition display.

"Well, it's definitely worth a shot. Lets go."

* * *

Mira glanced at the destroyed husk of the tank before she slowly pulled her aching body off the ground. Her eyes slid off the tank, stopping when they saw Will on his knees. He fell forward as she watched, making her heart jump into her throat. She took off at a sprint, already shouting.

"Will!" she slid to a stop beside him, gently rolling him over. His body was almost totally limp as she did so. "Will, can you hear me!" she placed her hands on either side of his chest, about to give him a gentle shake when she felt something warm and wet on her hand. She pulled her left hand away from him, her stomach dropping out the instant she saw the crimson liquid all over her fingers. She rolled him slightly, seeing the long crimson streak reaching his belt from where her hand had been, fresh blood still leaking out. "Damn it Will! Why didn't you tell me about this!?" she gently let him settle on his back and she was about to reach for her medical scanner when someone slid into place across from her.

"How bad is he?" she glanced at the burly SAW gunner, tears in her eyes. Her hand had just touched the scanner when a new voice stopped her, echoing over the pounding rain.

"Don't Move!" she slowly turned her head, seeing at least a dozen human soldiers, their long black rifles all trained on them.

"Is that one of ours they got there?" one of the other soldier's had spoken, lowering his rifle slightly.

"No private, he was shooting at the tank. He's a fucking traitor, and deserves to bleed out!" Mira slowly started to pull her medical scanner off her belt when the leader spoke again.

"I said don't Fucking move, Cornerian Bitch!" the man took a few steps forward and prodded her back with the muzzle of his rifle, hard enough to knock her over. She simply let herself lay across Will, trying to shield him from the soldiers.

"I'm just trying to save my friend! Please, let me treat him!" the leader laughed, coldly and mirthlessly.

"Hey boys, should we let this bitch help her friend?" the group all laughed at his words, already shouting profanities at them.

"No way in hell Staff Sergeant! We should let the guy bleed out, force her to watch. Damn Cornerians all deserve that kind of shit after what they did." The other soldiers seemed to instantly agree as Mira shot up.

"What we did?! We did nothing to you except defend ourselves!?" The sergeant snarled at her as he moved very close to her, speaking very quietly.

"Tell that to the twenty-three million people you left in a smoking crater on Earth." As soon as he finished speaking, he slapped her with enough force to knock her down again. Lou had a terrified look on his face as his eyes glanced between the soldiers, Will, and Mira. "Men, kill these…." His shout was cut off by a new voice, echoing down from the balcony above.

"Open Fire!" a mass of blue and green plasma bolts ripped away from the balcony as the deep voice echoed through the courtyard, seeming to totally ignore the rain. The human soldiers were all cut down in a single salvo as the voice continued. "First squad, set up a perimeter! Second squad, fan out and police up those UEC rifles and scrounge as much ammo for them as you can, then spread em out amongst the men! We'll need the firepower!" she looked up to see Graves up on the balcony, his men following the orders he gave with out hesitation. She quickly yanked the scanner out and ran it over Will's chest. Something had ripped into his chest, breaking one of his ribs and coming to a rest inside his lung.

"He's got something lodged in his lung. Damn it Will, what did you go and do this time!" she pulled out her med kit, quickly using an IV tube to set up a makeshift drain, helping drain blood out of his lungs so he could at least breathe a little better. Her fingers were rummaging through her bag as Lou suddenly spoke.

"The balcony! He must've been hit by a chunk of rock when he tackled me and Cal out of the way of that tank blast!" she glanced at him, letting a confused look cross her face. "When you trying to kill the first tank, he shot that grenade thing of his at it, and it turned and fired at us, collapsed the whole balcony." She nodded, finding the medicine she wanted and filled a syringe with it. "What's that?" she rolled his sleeve up and artfully slipped the needle into a vein as she responded.

"Adrenaline. Hopefully, it will help him wake up so it's easier to move him. We need to get him to a surgeon ASAP." Lou nodded as she finished injecting the liquid and pulled the needle out. As soon as she finished, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her muzzle against his cheek, her forehead resting on the polymer visor over his eyes. "Please be okay Will." Tears streamed out of her eyes as she gently whispered into his ear, completely ignoring what was going on around her until she heard a very wheezy voice respond.

"Hey Mira…."

* * *

I slowly wrapped my arms around Mira's quivering form, a mass of pain seeming to radiate from my side and engulfing my body. I tried my best to just shove it aside, focusing on calming Mira.

"Will, you are such an idiot! If you had told me about this sooner you wouldn't be in this condition!" I smiled slightly, her face still pressed up against mine.

"I didn't want you worried, that's all." My side burned as I spoke, struggling just to get those words out. She finally pulled herself away from me so she could look me in the eye.

"Worried? I am so far beyond worried right now! I'm taking you back to the HQ and you are getting a surgeon, and that's final!" I nodded, releasing her and unclasping my helmet, sliding it off to let the cool rain reach my throbbing head. My eyes closed as I let the cool water calm me, a deep voice speaking somewhere above me.

"Status!"

"Will's hit pretty bad. He needs a surgeon, badly. I'm taking him back to the HQ." Mira suddenly sounded much more confident than she had when yelling at me.

"alright. Take Lou and Reynolds with you. We linked up with Wilders men while we were trying to reach you. I'll let your guys…." His voice dropped off as a strange rumble reached my ears. I opened my eyes to see an earthwalker come thundering into the courtyard. A Cornerian slid off it's back as he rushed over to Graves.

"Graves! Fresh orders from Blackburn! There is a UEC convoy moving in through the breech! He needs you there, helping destroy it!" Graves nodded and waved him off, looking back at Mira.

"Go with the Earth Walker, he can lead you back to the HQ. now get going." Mira nodded and helped me to my feet. She slung one of my arms over my shoulder, fighting to support my weight as Lou grabbed my helmet out of the mud. I accepted it and simply clipped it onto my belt, before grabbing my dangling rifle and keeping a tight grip on it. Reynolds trotted over, clearly about to say something to Mira when Lou shot him and angry look, making him back down.

"Hey, we need the fastest route back to the HQ. We need to get this man to a surgeon." The earth walker glanced at them before he started moving.

"Well then, follow me. Most of the UEC inside the palace have surrendered, so we can take a little more direct of a route." Mira nodded and followed, and I let my eyes close, simply letting her lead me. After several minutes of just trying to focus on breathing, a loud roar made my eyes snap open, adrenaline surging through my body. "Quickly, hide!" we listened to the Earth walker without a seconds hesitation. The four of us hunkered down in a small alcove, Mira sitting me down against the wall. I could still see out and saw a pair of human soldiers coming barreling around a corner, a few seconds, later, a massive red eye dinosaur, looking like a Tyrannosaur, came around the corner, smashing into the wall. The human soldiers fired a few blasts at it, all of them harmlessly blackening the massive creature's scales. "No not him, we don't stand a chance!" the Earth Walker backed his way into the alcove, nearly flattening me and Mira. I could feel Mira quivering and I instinctively loaded my grenade launcher. There was a scream from further down the corridor, and I glanced down to see the creature pick up one of the soldiers and bite down, silencing the scream as the man's legs fell to the floor. Mira helped me scuttle deeper in, keeping my rifle raised toward the entrance as I rubbed up against a must smelling moss on the wall. I held onto Mira's hand with my left as the monster slowly strode closer and closer to our hiding spot, shaking the ground with each step. Her body was quivering up against mine as she wrapped an arm over my shoulder, completely terrified. A massive clawed foot appeared in front of us and I reluctantly released Mira's hand, griping my rifle correctly now. She wrapped her other arm around me and buried her face in my neck, a faint whimper slipping out of her. The creature sniffed at the air, one foot rising when Mira's entire body jerked, a small high pitched squeak issuing from her. The creature's foot set back down as it began to crouch down, so it could try to see into the alcove.


	21. Chapter 21: The Battle's End

Katt felt someone jab her leg with a finger, confused and still not totally awake, leaving her to wonder why someone would do such a harsh thing. She lurched in her seat, making a shaft of pain snap through her, emanating from her stomach. She was almost instantly awake, clutching where a piece of shrapnel should have been, only to find a bandage in its place. She opened her eyes and glanced at the injury, seeing a small amount of blood soaking through the bandage, leaving a small red mark. Her eyes flicked around the cramped steel interior, totally confused as to where she was. There was a screen dead ahead of her, as well as a few beside her, showing what looked like thermal camera feeds, UEC tanks trailing up the mountain visible on the front screen. Below her, and beyond what she assumed was the tank's turret gyro, was Falco, in the driver's seat.

"I hate to wake you, but you need to get that gun ready. Load anti-tank shells, UEC is going to have one hell of a surprise once we hit the CDF forces." She smirked, her head feeling clearer than before as she fought to understand the controls in front of her. She figured the joystick was how she adjusted the turret, and the crosshair for the main cannon and its coaxial weapon were on the forward screen, but the letter's on the side meant frankly nothing to her. She took a guess and punched the symbol built out of two vertical lines, connected by a horizontal, and one with a single line, with three horizontal lines coming off the right. Both of these, that she assumed were letters, were surrounded by a box. The box around the letters flashed at her as she touched it. _Wait, what if the box is highlighting the loaded ammunition type? And I doubt the humans have anti-tank shells loaded._ She shrugged as she looked at the three other options, confused as to what the symbols meant. The first had the same first letter as the highlighted symbol, with the second being a vertical line that split halfway up it, forming a forty-five degree angle. The next symbol in line had a triangular letter that the bottom seemed to have been moved to the halfway point, much as the two previous first letters were. It was followed by a vertical line, connected to a half circle on it's top half. The final symbol was another triangular letter followed by a single double curved line. She shrugged and selected the last one. The box appeared around it, flashing as machinery beside her pulled one bullet like shell out and automatically loaded a different one.

As the fresh round was loaded, she noticed a section of the screen change, that part now flashing. It was two symbols, separated by a pair of vertical dots. The first, was comprised of three letters, the first being a simple vertical line with a horizontal one stemming off the bottom, followed by another triangular letter, and another curvy letter. The part that was flashing was again comprised of three letters, the first being a simple circle, the last two being identical to each other. Both were single vertical lines, with two horizontal sticking off, at the top and midway point. She again shrugged, deciding to not try and learn a new language and hope she had the right round type loaded.

"Um, Falco, how did we end up in a human tank anyway?" he didn't even look at her as she spoke, focusing on acting like a convoy member.

"Well, I saw the tank just sitting out in the open, the crew all sitting on it and playing cards. Wiped out the crew and I kinda slipped in. then got called on the radio by the UEC commander, ordering me up the mountain with this convoy. Simple as that." He shrugged as he finished speaking, the tank lurching again as one of its treads slipped in a shell hole. "I also found a med kit in the tank. Hope my medicine I gave you is helping." She nodded to him and fell silent as they started rolling over what looked like metal planks, letting them quickly cross the rubble that had once been the wall of the Krazoa palace. Blue plasma rounds started to peg the armor plates of the tanks in front of them, Katt instinctively looking back, at yet another screen, and seeing an opportunity. The tanks and vehicles behind them were still on the metal planks, and sitting ducks for a well-placed cannon shot.

"Falco, spin the tank ninety degrees starboard, and then back when I tell you too." He followed her instructions and she turned the turret the same way, lowering the gun to be zeroed on the lead tank. Her finger squeezed the main trigger, expecting a bright white plasma bolt to appear on the thermal screen, but instead, a more orangish hued shot ripped out, slamming into the tank she had been aiming for. It slid a good four meters down the rails, as the round punched a man sized hole clean through the tank, the armored vehicle behind it being pulverized.

"What the hell did you just fire!?" Falco's voice sounded as bewildered as she was as she selected a different round, this one being the triangle and line with a half circle. Falco was already spinning the tank as the gun finished loading, one of the enemy tanks traversing toward them. Katt lined up their turret and squeezed the trigger again. This time, a white lance did appear on her screen, punching a hole in the enemy tank's rear armor, the tank exploding a second later. Cornerian fire seemed to be starting to drift away from them as she traversed the turret toward a troop carrier that was unloading, loading the round type that had been original selected. Her finger squeezed the trigger for a third time, sending a white lance into the back of the crawler. As soon as it connected, a massive white blast engulfed the area, wiping the infantry out. She lurched in her seat as Falco gunned the engine, one of the two remaining enemy tanks firing at them. She was almost blinded by the flash of white light on her starboard screen, just before it went to static. Alarms were ringing like crazy as she reloaded the anti-armor round she had found, aiming at the enemy turret. The white lance tore into the turret, right where it connected to the hull. It stopped traversing after them for a second, only for the tank to start turning for the turret. The gun having to constantly bounce up and down to try to track them as she frantically loaded another round, aiming at the back of their tank again. As soon as her gun was loaded, she fired, watching as the back of the tank blew apart after her round had punched through.

"Hold on!" Katt almost didn't react to Falco's shout, barely keeping from being slammed into the side of the turret. She glanced out the screen, seeing them literally in rammed into the last tank, the enemy barrel crumpled against the hull.

"Falco! Reverse and hard to port!" she loaded another of the power round she had first fired as he did so, her crosshair dipping at the second she fired, blasting the tread instead of the hull of the tank. As it so happened, that seemed more effective than hitting the tank directly, the tank being blown on its side, half the tank strewn across the area. The remaining infantry were scrambling to retreat as she clutched her side, Falco guiding their tank toward friendly lines. She couldn't help but grin, knowing how rare it was for a tank with a full four man tank crew to pull off four to one odds and win, much less just two people.

* * *

Krystal double checked the power level on the plasma repeater her hands were locked on, being wary of the limited power supply the weapon had. Given it was fully automatic, and fired much higher mass rounds than most standard Cornerian weapons, it could only fire a few hundred rounds per power pack. Although fine for short firefights, it was not effective in an extended battle without carrying spare packs. This, added with the almost fifteen pounds of weapon weight, made it fairly rare to actually see on the battlefield. The bike ripped across the ash field, straight toward the enemy outpost. She smiled as she felt Fox shift in his seat, feeling every part of his body as if it where hers. Certain regions made this kind of bond, interesting, to say the least. One of these regions, being the reason why Fox had shifted in his seat. She tried not to let her mind wander to the reasons why as the bike came within range of the camp. Silvery plasma bolts started ripping past, but Fox was already ducking and weaving. Krystal could feel exactly when and where he was going to move, making it simply too easy to place good shots on the enemy soldiers as they flashed past. Fox easily and swiftly piloted through the small out post, whipping past anti-air and artillery guns, the crews being cut down by Krystal's fire. The power pack emptied and she quickly swapped it with a fresh one from the pouch under her crotch. The spent pack she chucked off the bike, watching it impact on a soldier with enough force to snap his neck. Fox kept looping them around the base and she kept firing until she ran out of targets to shoot at. The small skirmish was over in less than a minute, almost every human in the base either dead or wounded, the few left over retreating. Fox smirked back at her and the two of them slipped off the bike in the middle of the compound. She severed their mental connection, his body fading out of her senses.

"Well, can you sense Katt here?" she shook her head, easily able to feel that there was no life in the base, with the exception of them.

"No. damn it, where could she be!?" she kicked at the mud and closed her eyes, trying to search farther out, but to no avail. She felt a hand touch her arm and her eyes opened, tears pouring out. When Fox saw the tears, he pulled her into a gentle hug, Krystal burying her face in his shoulder. "Damn it! This is all my fault!"

"No it's not Krystal. She was wounded, you were trying to protect her. Now come on, we will find her, no matter what. Let's try the base computers. They may not have her, but they may know where she is." Krystal nodded in response to him, following him inside one of the buildings and out of the rain. They simultaneously tried to shake the water off themselves, splattering the walls. Her eyes found a strange round console, instantly stepping closer and recognizing the primitive RADAR station. A single sweeper bar circled around the screen, remaining silent. Suddenly, the screen started pinging, twelve dots appearing.

"Fox, you need to see this!" he trotted over and looked at the screen, a frown forming on his face.

"There shouldn't be any fighters flying in this weather?" as they watched, the blips inched closer until the pinging stopped, friendly IFF markers highlighting the craft on the screen. "Oh hell, Bear Cats! Will wasn't kidding about them being able to handle this storm. Come on." She grabbed his arm after he spoke, stopping him from darting out of the door.

"Fox, where are you going, we can't fight fighter craft!" he let an evil grin slip across he spoke, making a similar smile cross Krystal's.

"We're going to use their Flak cannons."

* * *

Commander Alex Nitchoff had been a fighter pilot for almost two decades, and never once in that twenty year career, did he ever have to set foot in an aircraft made by a nation other than the United States. He struggled with reading the instruments, everything being analogue and in Russian. A curse slipped out of his mouth as one of the gauges spinned wildly for a second, then settled. He glanced at his wingman, just a split second before his wingman burst into thousands of pieces, hit directly by a flak round.

"Son of a.." his curse was cut off as Flak began exploding all around his fighter, peppering it with shrapnel. He tried to climb up and out of the explosions, but they simply climbed with him. Flashes highlighted his pilots behind him, seeing all but two of his aircraft blown apart in space of seconds. He tried to loop his fighter away, just before a Flak round hit his craft directly, sending it into a wild flat spin.

* * *

Mira felt her insides turn into liquid as she fought the urge to sneeze again. The massive Red Eye was crouching down to looking in the alcove, blood dripping away from it's jaws. It's skin was almost midnight black, it's eyes seeming to glow in it's socket's, the fiery orange iris's focusing on them. It's mouth opened and let loose a massive roar, causing Mira to panic, covering her ears, closing her eyes, and screaming at the top of her lungs. Will kicked back into her and something flashed through her eyelids, the sound of an explosion reaching her ears. Her eyes opened and she peaked out around Will, seeing smoke rising off the monster's shoulder, small cracks of blood showing from where the grenade had impacted. It howled again, much shorter this time, just before it lunged at them, it's massive head not quite able to fit in the alcove. Will's, Lou's, and Cal's plasma weapons all fired at once, leaving black marks in the creatures scales as the red, blue, and silver bolts slammed into it. The stone started breaking and the head lunged closer to them, unfazed by the plasma smacking into it. it's jaws were snapping at them as Mira shrieked, dragging Will with her as she scrambled deeper in. her back hit the quivering scales of the earthwalker and she began to panic. All she could see was the creature's mouth, opening and closing before her. It kept getting closer and closer as the stone broke and splintered from the force behind the creature's movement. She saw Will start kicking at it, trying to keep his foot out of it's mouth as it snapped at him.

"Will!" her voice was horse as she shouted in pure terror, images of Will being dragged out and crunched in the creatures massive maw flashing through her mind. There was a loud crack, a bright muzzle flash filling the area. One of the Red Eye's eyes exploded, causing it to tug its head back and roar again. That's when she heard a faint whump, Will's shoulder pounding back again. Her eyes closed as+ the grenade went off, followed by a strange splattering sound. Her entire body shook as she slowly opened her eyes, seeing the creature's head lying on the floor, jaw closed. It's neck and body followed, completely limp. "I-Is it d-dead?" her voice was quivering as much as she was in the sudden total silence. The only sound heard was the labored breathing of all five of them, all just trying to get their nerves to settle down. Will's head dropped into her lap, and she could feel even him quivering in fear.

"Fuck me that was too damned close!" Mira nodded as Will spoke, wrapping her arms around his limp body as Cal moved up to the creature, jabbing the empty eye socket with the barrel of his sniper rifle. When it didn't move, he stepped out into the corridor, barely managing to squeeze past.

"Hot damn, I think you got it! Blew its damned brain's out the back of its head! I feel sorry for whoever is cleaning up this mess." Will's hand reached up and touched her face as Cal shouted, smiling slightly as her rubbed the underside of her chin. The simple gesture calmed her a little, her hand stopping his and pressing it up against her cheek.

"hey Cal, I think you are on duty for that. I think I need a change of shorts." She couldn't help but smile at Lou's call, Will chuckling a little. His chuckle was cut off by a sudden cough, and him sputtering. A small drop of blood leaked out of his mouth, a new fear filling Mira.

"Fuck, that ain't good." She sat him up against the wall as he spoke, her head spinning to look at the earthwalker.

"Hey, I need you to shove that thing out of the way so we can carry him out. He needs a surgeon, now." The Earthwalker nodded and began ramming the corpse out of the way, her focus returning to Will.

"How are you doing?" he shook his head, his eyes closed as he clutched his side, a loud wheeze filling her ear every time he breathed.

"I can't believe you managed to kill Death Stalker! Eight of our best warrior's tried to kill it while it was still young, only one is lived. General Scales created it to kill the Red Eye King and lead the Red Eye, following his every command." Mira tried to pull Will to his feet, her muscles shaking too badly to let her.

"Here, let me." Lou easily pulled him up as Lou spoke, slinging one of Will's arms over his shoulder. "Why the hell was that thing in the palace anyway?" the earthwalker quivered as it looked back at them.

"Because we managed to lock it in the palace, hoping it would die of starvation." Lou nodded and Mira followed him out, nearly puking when she saw the mess blasted across the wall. Grey chunks of brain was mingled with bone fragments and a massive volume of blood, a massive hole being blown out the back of the creature's skull. She shuddered and looked away, following them deeper down the hallway.

* * *

I struggled to stay awake as Lou practically carried me along, images of the massive white teeth being just inches from ripping me out of the alcove flashing through my mind. A random thought bounced into my head, and despite the amount of pain I was in, I looked back at Mira.

"Ya know Mira, if it wasn't for the timing, you have a really cute sneeze." She turned bright red, all semblance of terror suddenly gone, something that I couldn't help but smile at.

"I… thanks? I think?" I chuckled and coughed again as the movement made my pain rip through my chest.

"So gorgeous, are you and furless there hooked up?" I acted like I couldn't hear Cal as he spoke, listening intently for what she was about to say.

"I….. no. we aren't." I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Sounds like there is a story there, willing to tell?" I heard a faint sigh slip out of her silence stretching for several seconds before she finally spoke.

"no. will you just leave me alone?" after she spoke, she sped up and shoved Lou out of the way, wrapping my arm over her shoulder and straining to help me along. Lou moved farther ahead, traveling abreast with the massive earthwalker. I glanced at her, easily seeing that something was on her mind.

"What are you thinking about?" she glanced at me and sighed, clearly struggling to find what she wanted to say.

"I…. I can't get the image of that Red Eye tearing you away from me out of my head. And it doesn't help that I've been terrified of the things ever since I heard of them." She looked away as she whispered back.

"That's not all, is it?" she nodded very slowly. Seconds dragged into minute's as I waited for her to respond.

"I…. It's nothing. Just worried about your injuries is all." I smiled at her before letting my cheek rest ontop of her head, knowing that wasn't what she was thinking about, but content to wait until she was ready to speak. After a few more turns and at least three separate staircases, we finally passed a group of Cornerian soldiers, and I couldn't help but grin. Mira quickly asked a soldier where the medical area was and he beckoned her to follow, leading the two of us there. Cal and Lou followed, staying a fair bit back until we reached the chamber, simply standing outside. The chamber was very similar to the one Blackburn had set up his command center in, only much smaller, and without the pillars. Cots lined the walls, overflowing with wounded Cornerians, some missing limbs, or peppered with shrapnel. Others had very clear plasma burns on them. A medic looked up to see the two of us and instantly reacted.

"Where is he hit?" Mira responded for me again, the medic clearly nervous at my presence.

"Piece of rock ripped through his rib. It's stuck in his lung." The medic nodded and spoke into his radio. A few seconds later, a pair of soldiers came out of a side chamber and rushed this way, shoving Mira aside and slinging me between them. She followed as they pulled me into the makeshift operating room, a doctor inside already treating a soldier who had clearly been grazed by a Kinect shot, ripping a long gash on his head.

"Doc, got another one for ya. Got a rock jammed in his lung." The doctor pointed at the table next to the one he was at, the two soldiers sitting me on it before moving back to the entrance, weapons in hand and watching me closely. Mira moved over and helped me remove my armor, leaving me in my blood soaked t-shirt as the doc finished off with the other soldier. He looked a lot like a German shepherd, his long muzzle and angular ears clashing with the glasses he was wearing. A lot of his snout had turned grey with age. He finally patted the soldier he was working on and one of the soldiers standing at the entrance led him away. Meanwhile, the doc moved over to me, already speaking.

"Alright, what happened?" I responded before Mira could.

"Tank took a pot shot at me, blasted a chunk of rock into my chest. Got a rib on the way in." the doctor nodded as he ran his own scanner over me, checking for himself.

"Any pain meds?" I shrugged and Mira spoke.

"No. just a shot of Adrenaline about twenty minutes ago. Injury happened maybe thirty minutes ago?" the doctor had a stunned look on his face before he shook it off.

"Alright, I need to put you under to remove that rock. Should only be for about an hour or so. Your rib looks like a clean break, no splintering or anything like that, so it will be fine given a few weeks and an adhesive. I doubt you will listen, but if you can keep off the front lines for a few weeks, it will do you some good." He was measuring out a clear liquid as he spoke, his needle ready to go.

"not likely sir. They'll need me back quick. At least able to fly." The doc sighed and gestured for me to lie down.

"Alright, count to ten for me kid." I nodded as he slipped the needle into my arm, strangely not as painful as it should be.

"One. Two. Thr…." Before I could even finish three, my world had gone black and faded into nothing.

* * *

Fox cursed as he scanned through file after file on the computer, having found a mass of data on troop movements and nothing more. The past hour had revealed nothing but the same result from the small firebase's computer systems.

"Still got nothing?" Fox nodded and powered the screen down.

"You said Katt was hurt right?" Krystal nodded and he continued. "Well, what if Falco found her, and decided to go back to the palace" Krystal stayed silent for a few seconds before she shrugged, turning to a new computer console.

"Whoa, Fox, we just hit the motherlode." He trotted over to her, confused until he saw the screen before them. It had read out's on all twelve of the artillery guns at the small firebase, and if he was reading it right, all of them were controllable from the console in front of them. He quickly ran back to the station he had been at, reading the troop locations before sprinting back to the gun station, sending a salvo of fire at one of the UEC positions.

"Krystal, go read off enemy coordinates to me, I'll man the guns." She nodded and smiled at him, trotting over to the other console before she started reading off locations. He quickly punched them in and in no time at all, he could hear the sound of the guns booming over the rain.

* * *

My eyes gently opened and I struggled slightly to sit up, recognizing the makeshift medical ward around me. I was still in just pants, but now I had clean white bandages around my chest. Although my chest still ached painfully, I felt like I could really breath again as a medic moved over to me, already dosing out a pain med.

"No, no meds. Save it for someone who needs it." the medic gave me a confused expression before moving on. My gear was piled beside the cot and I pulled my blood stained T-shirt back on before shakily standing up. The doctor that had treated me was a few cots away, checking on a soldier who was missing the lower half of one of his legs. I shambled toward him, moving better with every step as my sore and stiff body slowly loosened back up.

"Hawkins, glad to see you awake." He smiled at me before redressing the soldier's stump.

"How long was I out? And why don't I have a drain?" the doc smirked as I spoke, shifting to the next cot.

"Cornerian medicine is way beyond human. We have a foam we can spray into lung injuries that will not only prevent blood from filling your lung, but will also promote healing of it. Although, it does rip easily, so don't stress yourself. And you've been out for a couple of hours. When you awoke from the anesthesia, I had you dosed with a sleep aid." I nodded, listening to him as he spoke.

"Where's Mira?"

"Next room over. I told her to get some rest." I nodded and shambled through the door, down the hall, and into the next room. It was full of makeshift cots and sleeping bags. It was also not as high ceilinged or ornate as the other room, with a fair sized unglazed bay window at the far end. All of the beds were empty save one, all the way at the end of the room, by the window. Mira was half curled on it, her back toward me. She had stripped all of her equipment, leaving her in a tank top and cargo pants, her bare feet showing. Her tail was tucked up to her legs. I smiled and moved over to her, sitting on the cot right in the bend of her legs. Her breath came out slow and steady as I just watched her for a few minutes, not wanting to wake her. A whimper slipped out of her and I started gently stroking her back. After a few seconds of that, her eyes slowly opened and she rolled onto her back, forcing me to stop.

"Oh, hey Will." She smiled warmly as she spoke. "Feeling better?" I nodded and smiled back to her as she scooted over on the cot. I spun and laid down beside her, slipping an arm under her head as she snuggled in. one of her arms was draped across my stomach, and she rested her muzzle on my chest.

"I still hurt like hell, but at least I can breathe." I glanced at her, seeing her smile as her eyes slowly closed. I let my own eyes slide shut as minutes dragged by.

"I wish I could stay like this forever Will." I startled slightly when Mira spoke, thinking she was asleep. I stared into her vibrant eyes, smiling at her.

"Me too." I saw her visibly blush before she propped herself up on her elbow, letting her lean the upper half of her body over mine.

"So why don't we try? No more of this tip toeing around." My heart was suddenly beating like a machine gun, pounding away in my chest as hundreds of thoughts and emotions seemed to fight for control of my mind. A single tear slid out as I closed my eyes.

"I don't think I'm really ready for that Mira. I'm sorry." I felt the back of her fingers run down the side of my face as she responded, her voice still no more than a whisper.

"Will, if you wait until you are ready to do something, you will never do it. if I died tomorrow, what would you regret the most?" I opened my eyes to find her still leaning over me, smiling gently at me.

"hurting you. Hell, I already regret that. I'd regret not having you in my life anymore." She sighed, her eyes dropping to my chest

"If you died tomorrow, I would regret never being much more than your friend. And I know we are closer than that but, it still feels like that is all we are." A dark line appeared in her fur as a single tear slipped out of her eyes.

"I…." my voice froze in my throat, not really knowing what to say. I suddenly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer, gently pressing my lips against hers. Almost as if a hammer dropped, my heart stopped for a second, all thought of pain vanishing as her eyes widened, as shocked at my actions as I was. Her eyes fluttered and closed, staying that way until I finally released her. "I don't want to lose you Mira. That's just in case I do." She smiled and let herself rest on my chest, my arms still wrapped around her.

"So I take that as a 'yes, we should be more'?" I chuckled at her and smiled, happy just holding her there.

"Yeah. We should be. As you said, if you wait till you're ready, you'll never do anything." I closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy holding her soft body until a voice startled both of us.

"There yo…. Oh um, should I be giving you two the room?" Mira propped herself up as Falco spoke, both of our heads snapping toward him.

* * *

"Nah. Where's fox and them?" Falco smirked at the two of them, still intertwined on the cot as Will responded.

"Fox and Krystal are probably still out there. We'll know shortly, storm is clearing up. I found Katt. She was hurt pretty bad so I kinda rushed her back to the palace." Will nodded as Falco spoke. Mira shifted onto her knees, no longer hovering above Will so he could sit back up.

"So how are you two rascals doin, and why are you not out at the front?" Mira responded this time.

"Will got hurt. Didn't want to leave him so I stayed here. Last I heard, Saber and Bill were still with Graves men." Falco grunted as he plopped on one of the cots near them.

"Yeah, I know, ran into them on the way in." Mira shrugged as Will rubbed her back, clearly not done being close to her. "Some other news, enemy arty has been hitting some of their forces for the past hour or so. Seems like one of their bases turned on them. My gut says Fox has something to do with that. I'm going to go check on Katt." He stood and moved toward the door, feeling like he was completely invisible to the two of them. He stopped at the door and looked back at them, the sun setting behind them and framing them perfectly. He grinned, raised his wrist computer, and snapped a photo of them before stepping out.

* * *

Peppy gripped the arms of his command chair, trying to keep from being knocked out of it as another plasma round slammed into the ship.

"Damn it ash, quit letting them hit us!" the ship dipped and dived, another yellow streak ripping past, marking an enemy rail round.

"Shields at seven percent, armor integrity at forty-two percent, hull integrity at eighty-six percent." Rob's voice echoed across the bridge, causing another rare curse to rip out of his mouth.

"We cant keep this up! Ash, pound another round into that battle cruiser, then high tail it out of here, Slippy, I need all power diverted to the engines and shields, now!" the intercom echoed with Slippy's voice as Ash acknowledged with him. The view pitched until the four kilometer long vessel appeared in front of them. Two green lances erupted from beneath bridge, ripping across space and slamming into the enemy vessel. A blinding white flash filled their vision for a split second. As the light faded, they saw the ship was completely unfazed by the powerful blast. Lightening like energy washed over the ship's hull. After a second or so, the energy discharged toward the Great Fox like a wave. As it washed over the ship, consoles across the bridge flickered and died, sparks issuing from several consoles.

"Damn it! EMP!" Peppy glanced around the now darkened bridge as Ash spoke, heavily confused. The Great Fox had the best EMP shielding available to the Cornerian market, meaning an EMP attack shouldn't have knocked the systems out. Suddenly, consoles across the bridge flared back to life.

"Ash, get us out of here!" the grey wolf's fingers were already flying over the controls, frantically trying to get the ship moving.

"I cant Peppy! The controls aren't responding!" yet another curse ripped out of Peppy's mouth as he brought up the intercom.

"Slippy, I need you to manually fire the thrusters and adjust course for an emergency jump. We cant hold out any longer!" after a few minutes, Slippy's voice echoed back.

"That's a negative Peppy. None of the controls are responding!" peppy groaned and opened a com line, about to announce to the remaining ships that the Great Fox was out of action when voices spilled across the bridge.

"I don't believe it! they're retreating! We…. We've won!" after those words, all peppy could hear were cheers and excited hollers. Peppy let himself fall back into his command chair, suddenly thoroughly exhausted.

"Rob, if you are back up, open me a com line to the surface." The robot responded as the screen opened before him.

* * *

Fox nearly slammed the bike into a tree as the small screen under his face lit up, Falco's voice spilling out.

"Fox, can ya hear me!?" Fox slowed the bike to a stop and clicked the com line.

"Yeah, where the hell are you bird brain!?" the screen showed the blue Avian's face as Fox glared at him.

"Back at the palace. Look I found Katt, she was hurt pretty bad, so I rushed her back here, okay? Now you two need to get back here. UEC is pulling out, but watch out. May still be a lot of stragglers out there." Fox continued to glare at Falco, his lip snarling up slightly.

"So you found Katt, and made a beeline for the palace, and what did you forget to do?" Falco shrugged on the screen, looking away from the screen.

"I know. But, she was real bad Fox. I couldn't leave her out there. We nearly lost Will and Mira. Will got a badly punctured lung, and they nearly got eaten by a red eye too." Fox couldn't help but let his jaw drop, Krystal gasping behind him.

"What do you mean, nearly eaten by a red eye!? There shouldn't be any near here!" Falco just shook his head and chuckled.

"Ask 'em yourself when you get here. Falco out." The comm line cut and Fox cursed.

"Damn it! what did I tell those two about being reckless!" he heard Krystal chuckle softly behind him and glanced back at her. "What?" she simply smiled at him and tickled him behind his ear, making him squirm in both shock and pleasure.

"You worrisome idiot! They're fine, everyone is. You can take a breath now." He playfully glared at her and couldn't help but smile back. The smile quickly faded as memories of early conversations slipped back into his mind.

"I…. Krystal, I'm-" he was cut off as Falco's voice echoed back into the radio.

"Fox! The enemy just Warped a dreadnaught in! and they are targeting our troopships!" he swore and gunned the engines.

* * *

Peppy grimaced as the last Cornerian cruiser used it's tractor beam to slowly drag the crippled Great Fox out of orbit as Slippy and the other engineers scrambled to bring the ship back online. Silence filled the empty bridge as he stared out the side of the bridge, back at the planet below. Suddenly, there was a flare of light in space, just before a massive ship dropped out of warp. The vessel had to be at least seven kilometers in length, looking like an elongated angular dart. Dozens of massive quad barreled cannons lined the upper half of the hull. Yellow lances ripped away from the ship at an incredible speed. The lances ripped through one of the old, boxy frigates the military had converted into troopships, shredding it in seconds. Peppy was instantly reacting, calling Falco.

"Falco, get your asses up here! UEC just brought in a dreadnaught, one troop ship is already down!" Falco acknowledged and peppy cut the line. The cruiser pulling the Fox dropped the tractor beam and accelerated toward the dreadnought, but almost unnecessarily, as the ship warped out, only destroying one ship.

* * *

Fox sprinted into the command hall, Krystal hot on his heels. The entire team was in there, even Katt and Will, to Fox's surprise.

"Alright, what's going on?" Will was the first to speak. Somehow, he seemed to still be in charge of the situation.

"Russian dreadnaught dropped in and fired on a single transport, then jumped out. Transport wasn't even carrying our troops, it was carrying the POW's." everyone in the room looked like they belonged at a funeral.

"What the hell?" Fox's voice slipped out of it's own accord, remaining unanswered.

"That's… not all." Everyone looked in shock at Mira as her quiet voice filled the near silent void. "When Will got hurt, and I was trying to treat him a… a group of soldiers surrounded us. They, said something. I didn't really think about it at the time but, they said that the Cornerians had to pay for what they've done." Everyone gave her puzzled expressions. All except Will, who Fox could tell was deep in thought.

"A war for vengeance. It makes a hell of a lot more since than one of greed, that's for sure. But vengeance for what?" the group fell silent until Fox's wrist computer went off, Fox instantly answering it. Peppy's voice filled the air, grabbing the group's attention.

"Slippy has the Great Fox moving again. We got orders from general pepper. They don't have enough ships to haul all of the troops back to the fleet, so he wants us to transport a detachment. See you guys up here. Fox absently nodded and closed the line before he sighed.

"Well, no amount of sitting around is going to end this war. Let's move out." The group nodded as a white vulpine began passing out orders to his men. Fox marched away, through the once familiar halls of the Krozoa palace. After a few minutes, and a few wrong turns, he ended up in the main chamber. It was a massive tower, with several levels along it and two long, shallow spiral stair cases winding their way up all the way to the roof. There was a hole built into the very center of the ceiling, hundreds of feet above. This was the oldest section of the palace, and had been built when the dinosaurs of Sauria still worshiped the moon. Memories flashed through his mind of the last time he had been in this chamber, remembering the metal contraption that had been there, up in that hole in the ceiling, holding a stasis crystal, with Krystal trapped inside. He debated for a minute before he trotted up the stairs, taking several minutes to arrive at the top. Finally, he was standing atop the tower, on the raised dais where he had first seen, and eventually saved, Krystal. Glistening purple fragments were still lodged in the stone from when the stasis crystal had exploded. He sat at the edge of the hole, staring down the hole.

_The strange metal swirled faster and faster in circles until it suddenly exploded, the stasis crystal above it blasting apart. The scantily clad girl seemed to float for a split second and Fox instantly reacted, ripping the strange staff off his back and extending it into the hole. Fox barely had a chance to brace as her full weight yanked down on the staff, one hand wrapped tightly around the staff. Her stunning turquoise eyes snapped up to Fox, clearly terrified. He heaved against the staff, pulling her close enough to the ledge that he could hold his left hand out for her. She glanced at it, still terrified when he smiled gently at her._

_ "It's alright, I wont let you fall." Her eyes flicked between his hand and his eyes before she smiled and accepted it. Fox easily hauled her small frame out of the hole, collapsing the staff and sliding it back under his pack. Without any warning, the girl threw her arms around Fox, instantly speaking._

_ "Thank you."_

Fox jumped out of his memory as a voice startled him.

"How did I know I would find you up here." He quickly stood and danced a few steps away from the edge, seeing Krystal standing a few feet away. But, she was wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts, her hands in her back pockets.

"Um, Krystal, what happened to your armor?" she chuckled and walked out over the open hole, not falling through, simply floating in the air.

"Because I'm just projecting." Fox sighed and looked away.

"You know how much I hate you doing this." He shuffled his feet as he spoke, unwilling to look at the specter of her.

"I know. I just need to lead you to the hanger. We do need to get going." He nodded but remained motionless.

"Krystal, I'm so-" her voice cut him off, harsh and hostile.

"I don't want to hear it Fox. I'm not worth it." and with that, the apparition changed to a simple ball of light, dancing away down the stairs.

"I'm sorry Krystal." He finally spoke that aloud before he trotted after the orb of light.


	22. Chapter 22: Crash

Fox rolled his aching shoulders as he stepped into the great fox's cafeteria. It had only been a couple hours since they left Sauria, but the normally comfortable space was now filled with noise as a full company of infantry ate their meals. One of the tables near the back wall had all of the male pilots at it, as well as Slippy and a pair of foot soldiers. He grabbed a tray of food, hearing what one of the soldiers was saying as he sat down at the table.

"Alright, I doubt any of you have gotten laid as many times as I have." The thin canine soldier had his arms crossed as he leaned on the table in front of him as he spoke, a sly smirk on the edge of his mouth. Fox dropped into a seat across from him, right next to Will.

"Oh great, not this again. Cal, do you really have to go here again?" a short woolly canine was now speaking.

"Oh yeah, this again. Hey there, name's Cal by the way." The thin canine held his hand out and Fox shook it politely.

"Fox McCloud." He nodded, then nudged Falco in the ribs.

"What about you Falco?" Falco grunted, Fox thinking he already knew the answer to this questions.

"Once, but I was high, and drunk." Fox's jaw dropped in disbelief. The entire time Fox had known Falco, Falco had avoided women as if they were they were a plague.

"Wait, What!? How come you've never told me this story Falco?" Falco seemed to shrink in his seat, glaring at Fox.

"Because I'm ashamed of it okay? It was a long time ago, and I don't even think Katt remembers it." Fox shook his head in disbelief at him.

"You and Katt went twenty-toes? No wonder she's so into you." Falco shriveled up even more as Fox spoke.

"Alright, you there, human, Will, what about you?" Will shrugged, swirling the liquid in his glass.

"No, never. Had a gal that kept pushing for it, but I was waiting for the right thing to fall through. Never did." Fox saw the glimmer of pain in his eyes, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"What!? You had a girl trying to fuck you and you didn't!? you are one crazy son of a bitch!" Will got a dark look in his eyes as he glared at Cal.

"Believe it or not, some people actually respect women. And for your information, she's dead." Cal shrugged, but Fox could still see the dark look in Will's eyes.

"Alright, you're a big ass celebrity Fox, what about you? I'm bettin' gals were crawling all over each other to get at you." Fox smirked as he felt blood rising to his cheeks.

"Yeah, a couple gals." Slippy's voice rang out before anyone else could react.

"Wait, who Fox." He smirked and shrugged.

"Fara, a few times back while we were dating. And, well, Krystal." Bill was chuckling as Slippy went slack jawed.

"But, Fo-Fox, you and… whoa." Bill laughed even harder, Fox shrinking in his chair, blood finding it's way to his cheeks.

"Well, it's better than you Bill, what are you at now, thirty different gals?" he scoffed and glared at Fox.

"I only dated three girls in school Fox." He smirked as he responded his ears slowly perking back up.

"Yeah, and had a one night stand with at least one girl at every party." Bill glared at him before he responded.

"I may have been a player in school, but that stopped with the military. Besides, I got a serious gal now." Fox's jaw dropped out yet again, surprised for the second time.

"What? What's her name Bill?" he glanced around at the group, a sadness starting to creep into his voice.

"Lieutenant Fay Spaniel. She's an engineer in the CDF. She was…. She is stationed on Katina. Haven't heard from her since the war broke out." Fox cursed, almost to himself.

"I'm sorry Bill." He shrugged, doing the exact same swirling motion with his drink that Will had just done.

"Alright, enough with the sad crap. Saber, what about you." Saber shrugged at Cal as he spoke.

"I rightly don't know. My dad committed suicide after Cerinia was destroyed, I turned to bounty hunting until a couple years ago. I kinda, was a bit wild during those years. Woke up in other peoples beds with no idea how I got there on more occasions than I'd care to admit." He smirked just before taking another bite of his noodle dish. Will suddenly stood up, his half full tray still on the table as he walked away. He was clutching his side with one arm as he walked. Fox slid off the bench and trotted to catch back up with him.

"Hey, Will, your lung doing alright?" he glanced up at Fox, a single tear visible on his face.

"Hurts a bit. But I'm sure it's fine. See ya around." Fox stopped as he spoke, curious as to what was bothering him, but unwilling to press the issue.

He shrugged and stepped back to the table, just as the burly figure was speaking again. "alright, if I haven't been laid, then who fucked my wife and gave me two kids." The whole table, Fox included, burst out laughing.

"Damn Lou, I think that's the first time I've heard you swear!" the canine smirked, leaving that as his only response.

* * *

I quickly looked through my cabin and it's bathroom, making sure no one was in the room before I locked the door. My feet carried me back to my desk, where I opened the weapon cleaning case, pulling the upper rack of tools out to reveal the foam layer beneath, an outline of my pistol cut precisely into the soft foam. But, instead of containing the firearm, there was a small, velvet covered box tucked neatly into the space where the trigger guard would have been. I pulled the smaller case out, feeling the soft velvet in my fingers before gently opening the case to reveal the small band within. It was made of silver, with a single sapphire gem set within strands of silver, looking much like branches of a tree that had been twined together.

"If only I had been able to give this too you Amanda." Tears slipped out my eyes, as a hollow feeling found it's way into my chest cavity. The door beeped as someone unlocked it, giving me almost no time to close the case and slip it back into it's hiding place before Mira could open the door. I was clasping the hard shell clasps when the door opened, Mira stepping inside.

"Hey Will, there a reason the door was….. something wrong?" her voice froze for a second when she saw the tears. She instantly stepped over to me and wiped them away, a concerned look on her face.

"Just memories." She sighed as I spoke, crouching in front of me so she could rest her arms on my lap.

"I'm going to assume bad ones. You really need to start letting go of those." I sighed looking away from her.

"Could you let go of the memories of your parents, no matter how painful they may be?" she shook her head and I continued. "Then don't expect me to let go of similar memories." She was quiet for a few minutes until she finally nodded.

"Okay. Why was the door locked?" I shrugged, still not really looking at her.

"Just didn't want to be disturbed." She smiled at me and wiped away a fresh tear before it slid away.

"Okay. I'm just going to take a shower real quick. When you want to talk, I'm here." She stood and stooped over slightly, planting a kiss on my cheek. An almost fuzzy warmth spread away from that spot, starting to eat away at the hollow feeling.

"Okay. Thank you Mira." She nodded and trotted into the bathroom, leaving me with my thoughts.

* * *

Wolf stepped onto the bridge of The Wolfhound, sipping on a cup of coffee. Riley's voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Lord O'Donnell, got a long range contact, approaching fast." He smirked, sitting in his chair as he brought up a high intensity scan of the vessel. It came back in their records, even though the ship was heavily modified. It was built off a prototype fighter that had never made mass production, called the AL-7 Warbird. Although similar to the old AL-4 and AL-3 Bottlenose fighters, but it's wings were thicker, bent back instead of forward, and had G-diffusers built into the wings. The craft also had fairly good shielding, as well as two different main weapons, a center mounted six barreled rotary cannon and twin Arwing grade plasma cannons. The biggest visible mod to the craft, was a chassis expansion along the underside of the hull. This added a third engine to the design, as well as a larger reactor system. But what the modification was really for, was to allow the pilot's seat lower into the fighter, and more importantly, provide a cramped, but comfortable living space. The wings were also reinforced, and had almost sixty miniature G-Diffusers sticking off of them, looking like feathers. The flaming red and orange paint job finished the ensemble, making the craft fit it's name perfectly, The Phoenix. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the craft.

"Riley, tell her to dock. I'm meeting her in the docking port." Riley waved to him and he set the coffee mug down, trying to not look too excited as he trotted off the bridge, straight all the way back to the starboard airlock, just behind the bridge. He paced back and forth, struggling to keep a smile from creeping onto his face. Finally, he heard the airlock begin pressurizing, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall. He fought to keep a disappointed expression on his face. The door finally opened, and the second he saw the woman on the other side, his ploy was almost destroyed.

"You're late Fara." The much smaller vibrant crimson vulpine smiled, her tail flicking madly behind her.

"Oh just shut up and kiss me already you big pansy." All pretense of annoyance disappeared from Wolf's face, a massive grin exploding across his face as he popped off the wall. She ran forward into his waiting arms, both of them already locked in a furious kiss. Wolf couldn't help but run his fingers through her waist length fiery red hair, feeling what was under the hair as much as he was the hair.

"Ah shit, it's back." Leon's voice came from behind them, Wolf not even paying attention to it, but Fara broke off the passionate kiss to speak.

"Aww, is lizard boy still jealous?" Leon's beady black eyes glared at her before he stomped off, Panther's silky smooth voice drifting to them.

"Aww, the shows over. I was enjoying that commander." Wolf just stuck his middle finger the air, the back of his hand toward Panther as he kissed Fara again. They finally broke off, now alone in the hallway.

"Well, I think you missed me." He just smiled at her and started walking her toward his cabin with one arm tightly around her shoulder.

"It's been nearly three months since I've seen you. Did you expect something else?" she buried her head in his shoulder, nuzzling the underside of his muzzle.

"Yes. I half expected you to rip my clothes off in the foyer." He gave her an amused expression stopping to face her.

"Really? I can change that if you'd like, but I'm sure the crew would prefer if I waited till we were in my cabin. Except Panther, he'd take a video of it." she burst out laughing and punched his shoulder.

"Well, I would love too, but we got some important stuff to deal with. Briefing room, now." He nodded, knowing she was shifting into her more soldier like ways, following her through the ship.

* * *

Mira stared at the reflection of herself in the mirror, shocked at how much she had changed in the past few months. Her normally perfect hair was frayed, tangled, and generally badly kept. She had multiple scars, that although hard to find through her fur, she knew where they were. Her calf also looked almost deformed still from where burning plasma and bits of metal had eaten away at it, but at least the fur had grown back now. And the cut on her face had finally sealed over, letting Townsend remove the stitches, but was still the most visible of all the scars, peeking through her fur. And the adhesive patch on her hip itched like crazy beneath, making her want to just rip it off.

"Well, at least my appearance actually fits how I feel inside for a change." She sighed as she dropped onto the toilet seat, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. After a few minutes, she did her best to wipe away the tears before finally slipping into her night cloths, just a pair of underwear and a long T-shirt. When she stepped out of the bathroom, Will was still sitting in his desk chair. "You doing okay?" she smiled at him as she spoke, almost thinking he wasn't going to respond when he didn't move.

"Yeah." He finally looked at her, a weak smile crossing his face. She nodded as she dropped onto her bed, just staring at the metal ceiling above her. She felt the bed shift as Will sat on it, running a finger through the fur on her muzzle. "You look like you have something on your mind." She looked at him, seeing him smiling at her.

"Yeah. Just can't get what those soldiers said out of my mind." She rolled onto her side, facing away from him. She felt his hand start gently stroking her back.

"Well?"

"They, wanted to just let you bleed out. Wanted to force me to watch you die. Said something like the Cornerians deserved it. He said we killed millions on earth." Will's weight came off her bed and she rolled over to watch him move across the room to his desk, where he pulled a data pad out of one of the drawers. He flicked through it, a pained expression on his face.

"That doesn't make… make an-" he clutched his side as his voice became wheezier and wheezier. He suddenly started coughing, the datapad clattering to the floor.

"Will!" he dropped onto his bunk, one hand over his mouth. The coughing finally settled down, but when he moved his hand away from his mouth, spots of blood were all over his hand.

"Shit." His voice was nearly non-existent as Mira rushed over to the door panel, opening the intercom.

"This is Mira, I have an emergency, someone please get your ass here!" she rushed back to will, lacing her fingers with his. An alarm started ringing, just seconds before the door opened, Saber and Krystal rushing in.

"What's wrong Mira?" Krystal was already speaking as she slid up beside them.

"I don't know! He seemed just fine and he suddenly started wheezing and coughing up blood!" a curse slipped out of Saber's mouth.

"I'll help him get to the med bay, Krys, get on the coms and get Townsend there!" Krystal nodded and rushed to the intercom while Mira and Saber slung Will between them. Mira chest felt like it was about to burst as her heart hammered away at her ribcage.

"Townsend, we need you in the medical bay now! I repeat, Doctor Townsend, to the medical bay immediately!" as soon as Krystal's voice finished echoing through the ship, the four of them rushed out of the cabin, Krystal leading the way through the ship. Mira's eyes stayed locked on will, barely even noticing the various infantry as they passed through the ship. They shot through the doors of the medical bay, instantly laying Will onto one of the cots. Mira's heart seemed to stop for a second when she realized that Will wasn't even conscious anymore. She let her fingers slip into his, hoping he knew she was still there. She didn't even look up as Townsend rushed in.

"What's going on?" a few tears slipped out of her eyes as she shrugged. Townsend nodded as he ran a scanner over him. "Alright, somethings wrong with bio foam. His lung is healing way faster than it's degrading, causing new rips to form. damn it! you three, out!" Saber and Krystal instantly walked out, but Mira simply glared at him.

"I'm not leaving him." Townsend glanced up at her, already cutting Will's T-shirt off.

"Then help me."

* * *

Fox rushed up to the infirmary, staggering slightly as he nearly ran into Krystal and Saber outside the window. Krystal gave him a semi-disgusted look, wrinkling her nose.

"Fox, are you drunk?" he held his fore finger and thumb close together as he spoke.

"Slippy, me and Bill had a few drinks, okay? Now what's going on, I went to the bridge when the alarm went off." She nodded and gestured into the darkened window.

"Will's lung collapsed or something. Mira and Townsend are doing surgery now." Fox nodded trying to fight off the cloud that was filling his brain.

"Alright, do we know if he is going to be alright?" they shook their heads, just as the door to the infirmary opened, Mira stepping out in a night shirt. "He alright Mira?" she slumped up against the wall, clutching her hair to her temples.

"I…. we don't know. Townsend thinks his lung collapsed while I was talking to him, and the blood blocked access to his other lung. He was on deaths door when we got him in there. He could be in a coma for all I know." She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Fox crouched and patted her shoulder before he stepped towards the door, only to see it locked at the moment.

"Shh, he's going to be fine Mira. Just hang in there for him." Fox glanced back, seeing Krystal sitting on the floor, hugging Mira. He tapped in his code to get through the door and stepped through.

"Fox, you know I don't like having drunk people in my infirmary." He shrugged, seeing will shirtless on one of the cots. He had a tube draining out into a small pan, blood slowly leaking into it.

"I know. What happened to Will, he seemed fine." Townsend was in the lab opposite his office, doing something.

"The bio-foam didn't degrade at the same rate that he heals, causing stress rips in his lungs, and causing his lung to collapse. I'm working with the formula to adjust it to his body. But, it may end up a moot point. Can't tell if his brain is gone or not." Fox nodded and frowned, staring at Will again.

"Well, keep me up to date okay?" Townsend nodded and Fox stepped out. Krystal and Mira were still on the deck plating, saber hovering over them. He crouched next to Mira and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's gonna be fine Mira, he just needs to rest. And so do you, okay?" she nodded and he turned his attention to Krystal.

"Krystal, Saber, can I have a few words with you two?" Krystal patted Mira's shoulder and followed Fox a few meters away.

"Will is pretty bad. Townsend is on it, but don't tell Mira how bad he is. Just keep her hope up, okay?" Krystal nodded, glancing back at to where she was curled on the floor.

"Okay Fox. I'll sleep in their cabin tonight, so she doesn't have to be alone." Fox nodded and Krystal trotted back to Mira, standing her up as Fox spoke directly to Saber.

"Stay in the infirmary, keep an eye on Will. If he gets better, send me a message, and call Krystal. If worse, call me." He nodded and knocked on the infirmary door as Fox turned and walked down the hall, headed back to the team lounge.

* * *

Krystal sat in Will's chair, watching Mira as she slumped into her bed. Krystal kneaded her fingers as she listened to the jumble of Mira's thoughts. Most of them seemed to center around Will, but she couldn't help but frown at her worrying about the way she looked.

"So, you're having trouble with how you look?" Mira propped herself up, to look at her, a saddened smirk on her face.

"And now I wish you couldn't read my mind. Yeah. Just cant seem to find the time or energy to care about the way I look. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if my fur is matted in more than one place." Krystal chuckled and smiled to her.

"I think I have a body wash that will help you there. It's what I use to stay soft, even with the crap we do." Mira chuckled slightly but, only just.

"Krystal, tell me the truth. How bad is Will?" Krystal fought down a sigh, trying to think quickly.

"I trust Fox. If he said Will is going to be fine, then he will be." Mira sighed and rolled onto her side, facing the wall.

"Thanks for lying Krystal. Good night." Krystal fought down tears, not entirely clear how Mira saw through it. She sighed and slipped into Will's bed, laying awake for hours before she finally managed to settle her nerves enough to sleep.

* * *

Saber sighed as he leaned back on the wall, sitting on one of the medical beds. A faint beep echoed every second or so, as it had done for the past three hours. Not many would have been able to notice the subtle slowing that had been going on for all of those hours, but Saber had, the slowing speed starting to worry him more and more. He punched a few commands into his wrist computer, calling up Fox.

"What is it Saber?" he glanced down at the screen, seeing Fox peering out at him.

"His vitals have been falling this whole time. Still no major brain activity. Still on the life support machines. Doc still thinks he didn't get here in time." Fox frowned on the screen, clearly as worried as Saber was.

"Did Doc managed to cook up a new foam for him?" Saber nodded, glancing up at the small patch on Will's side.

"Sort of. It ended up more gel like, has to have a plug on the wound. But it is doing the job fine." Fox nodded as Townsend stepped out of his office, causing Saber to glance up.

"Hey Doc, think a blood transfusion will help him?" Townsend stared at Will's vitals for a few seconds before he spoke.

"It could, but unless I start seeing brain activity, then it's no use. Even in a deep coma, there are signs that the brain is still functional. I'm not seeing any more than weak life support coming from him." Saber nodded and was about to close the call when a high pitched note filled the room. "Son of a… he's crashing!" Fox cut off the call as Saber slid off the bed, a spike of fear jumping in his throat.

"Anything I can do doc?" Townsend didn't even glance at him as he spoke.

"You can stay out of the way."

* * *

My eyes snapped open, only to see nothing but light, almost blinding me. Confused, I stood and searched my surroundings, seeing only a landscape of white light, no detail or visible objects as far as I could see. Strangely, although this amount of light should have been blinding, it really felt soft and welcoming.

"Hey Will." I heard the voice somewhere behind me, scarily familiar but I couldn't place who it could be. I instinctively spun on the spot, my hand dropping to my thigh where my blaster usually was. Behind me was a sight that made my jaw drop. A slender woman stood before me, her long blonde hair free and smooth like it had rarely ever been, a gentle smile spread across her face. Her green eyes were locked on mine, and strangly had a light of humor seeming to radiate out of them.

"You aren't armed silly." She chuckled as she spoke again, her voice now unmistakable to me.

"A-Amanda?" tears were stinging my eyes, about to simply burst forth from my eyes.

"Yes. I'm surprised it took you that long to recognize me." She chuckled again, gesturing me to come over to her, where she now sat on what seemed like nothing. My feet hobbled over to her still in shock over seeing her again.

"I…. Where am i?" she simply laughed as I sat down beside her.

"That is a very hard question to answer, and the only one who can really answer that is you." She smiled at me, the same warm and affectionate smile she had always used around me.

"So this is all just in my head isn't it? just a vivid dream."

"I don't know, you tell me. Do I seem like a piece of a dream to you?" I shook my head and she simply continued. "I was shocked when you heard me on Fortuna. I was yelling so hard just trying to tell you where Mira was that I thought I might go hoarse. Any way, speaking of Mira, she really needs you right now. And I'm not meaning the cold hearted soldier you've become. She needs the person I knew." She was smiling at me as she spoke, a cold dagger starting to drive it's way into my heart.

"That person is gone Amanda. He died with you." She laughed again, so light and airy that it brought up memories of times long passed.

"I don't think that's true. I think he's just suppressed. Because you wont let go. Even with you agreeing to date Mira, all you really think about is me. And trust me when I say this, it will destroy her. You are what makes her happy, gives her the strength she so desperately needs. So why are you still holding onto to something that's gone?" I glanced at her, tears finally finding their way out of my eyes.

"Because I love you more than anything Amanda." She grimaced, gently wiping away the tears on my cheeks.

"Yes, you did. But you let that love turn into an obsession." I let myself think for a while, unable to find any argument to prove her wrong.

"Damn it! i… Why are you always right?" she laughed again, a massive grin stretching across her face.

"Not always, just more often then you are. I'm sorry that I didn't fight on Ganymede." I gave her a puzzled look, and she looked down at her hands, a single tear slipping out of her eyes. "I thought that, as a medic, they wouldn't kill me if I didn't try to fight them. So I just did as they said and surrendered. When they started executing everyone, I started crying. I apologized to you over and over, knowing I had doomed myself. But, I guess, in the end, some things happen the way they do for a reason." She sniffed slightly, another tear slipping out. I gently wiped the moisture away and smiled at her.

"I'd forgotten how much you used to say that. And how often you were right about it." she smiled sadly before frowning at me.

"Before you go, I got asked to slip a message through you. Tell Fox to trust his instincts. He'll know what it means." I gave her a confused look, just before I realized that she was fading, and the light around us seemed to be dimming rapidly.

"Amanda, wait!" but the words were already too late, as she had faded away, the once comforting light now nothing but cold darkness.

* * *

Mira rolled over in her bed, glaring at the ringing wrist computer on Krystal's forearm.

"Krystal, wake up and answer your damned computer!" Krystal stirred slightly, then shot into a sitting position to answer the call.

"Hello?" her voice sounded almost excited, just before Saber's voice spilled out of the device.

"Get down here, quick! And bring Mira!" his voice sounded almost relieved, Mira already standing up and pulling cloths out of her dresser. She quickly pulled on a real shirt and pants before following Krystal out. It seemed like the whole ship was asleep as they moved through the halls, finally arriving at the infirmary. The lights were on inside, which kind of puzzled Mira. Krystal opened the door and stepped through, Mira right behind her. Her eyes scanned the room, sliding over Fox and Saber before they froze. Will was sitting up in the bed smiling as the laughter around him was dying down. He looked at her and his smile changed into a massive grin. She shot across the space in a heartbeat, almost diving on the bed to wrap her arms around him.

"Um, hey Mira. Happy to see you too." His arms wrapped around her and she felt his lips brush up against her cheek, making her tail flick madly behind her. She finally leaned back, staring into his eyes as tears started to leak out of her eyes.

"Will, I really thought I was going to lose you." He smiled at her and chuckled.

"And since when have I been able to be brought down? I would have thought you'd have figured it out by now." A bewildered expression crossed her face as he chuckled at her. "Don't you know, I'm invincible!" she chuckled, but it was nothing like the laughs emanating from around her.

"Will, you are such an idiot, you know that?" he nodded and pulled her closer as he responded.

"I know. I love you too Mira." She smiled broadly and shriveled up just before Townsend interrupted them.

"Well, I hate to break up the party, but I need all of you out so I can take care of my patient. Now please!" Mira scowled at him as she eased off the bed, her hand staying on Will's for a second before she followed the others out.

"Krystal, I'm sorry." Krystal stopped as Mira spoke, smiling at Mira.

"For what?"

"I didn't trust you guys when you said will was going to be alright and I should have." Krystal glanced at the other two, but nodded to her.

"Don't worry about it. you just care about him, we all get a little worked up about those we care about." Mira smiled and nodded before stretching and yawning, still exhausted.

"Well, good night guys. See you at O'seven hundred." They all called goodnight back as she trotted down the hallway, feeling like she could float at that moment.


	23. Chapter 23: Friendship

Krystal felt someone else into the lounge as she stared out the long window. She glanced behind her, seeing Mira behind her. She was wearing a baggy sweat shirt and sweat pants, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey Mira. Where's Will?" she shrugged as she stepped around the couches in the room, leaning on the back of the closest one to the window.

"I….. wanted to talk to you." Krystal smiled at her, moving to lean against the couch beside her.

"What about?" she looked away, making Krystal want to try and read her mind, but she fought the urge, simply waiting for her to speak.

"I found this stashed in Will's cleaning case." She finally uncrossed her arms, passing Krystal a small velvet box. Krystal curiously opened it, seeing the gorgeous silver ring hiding inside.

"It's gorgeous." Mira nodded as Krystal handed the box back to her.

"Yeah, it is. But why does he have it? and why is it hiding inside his cleaning case?" Krystal smiled at Mira, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Maybe you should ask him? He is _your_ boyfriend after all." She shrugged, walking up to the window and staring through it.

"I don't know. I've probably been annoying him. I haven't left him alone since he woke up from his collapse. He would probably be angry at me if I tried." Krystal chuckled, unable to contain it, earning her a glare from Mira.

"Mira, Will loves you, and he especially loves spending time with you. It's one of the few things I ever manage to get out of him." She shrugged, still staring out into space. Krystal could feel the fear bleeding off from her. "Just ask him." She finally nodded and tucked the case into the pocket of her hoodie.

"Alright. And thanks for the body wash by the way. You weren't wrong about it working for people like us. I do have one question though." Krystal raised an eyebrow at her, smiling slightly.

"And that is?"

"How did you know that a body wash for men would help us?" Krystal burst out laughing, causing Mira to raise an eyebrow.

"Um, I always wondered how Fox kept his fur so soft. So I kinda stole it from him about the time of the Aparoid threat. He was laughing about it when i bought some at the store." Mira smiled at her and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to Will. Wish me luck?" Krystal nodded and patted her shoulder, watching her leave. She waited a few seconds after the door had closed before following her through the ship. She heard music come from Will and Mira's cabin as Mira stepped in, silencing when the door closed. She slipped up beside the door and focused on Mira's mind, using it to peak into the room.

* * *

I leaned back against the wall by my bed, finally out of the infirmary after several days. Mira had practically lived in there while I was in there, insisting on being there for me the whole time, much to Doctor Townsend's displeasure, and my pleasure. I glanced over at her empty bed, curious as to where she was. I shrugged, deciding that she probably wanted some time alone. After a few minutes, I suddenly decided to walk over to my desk and use the computer to play some music, something I had not done in well over a year. A smile crossed my face as I dropped onto my bed again, the first song being an old favorite of mine. After a few seconds of guitar, the words finally started.

_"Now the dark begins to rise, save your breath, its far from over! Leave the lost and dead behind, nows your chance to run for cover! I don't want to change the world, I just want to leave it colder!"_ I happily let myself listen to the music, losing myself in it as song after song played. The door opened behind me and I almost rolled off the bed to see who it was. A broad smile spread across my face as Mira closed the door behind her.

"Hey beautiful." Her tail flicked wildly as I said that, bringing another grin to my face.

"do you really think I'm pretty?" she sat in her desk chair as she spoke. I raised an eyebrow at her, still smiling.

"Yes. Wouldn't say it if I thought otherwise." She smiled, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. "Is something bothering you?" I sat up as I spoke, a worried expression on my face as my feet hit the deck plating.

"I….. found this the other day. I wanted to ask you about it." she produced a small, velvet covered case from her pocket, and a fire suddenly seemed to burn inside my chest. Before I even knew I was doing, I had sprung to my feet, stepped over to her, and torn the case out of her hands.

"Where the hell did you get this!?" I quickly put it back where I had always stashed it as I half-shouted at her.

"I…I was looking for your data pad. It got lost when yo-" I forcible cut her off, still facing my desk.

"Inside a closed cleaning case!? Why the fuck were you rooting through my stuff!" she whimpered behind me, traces of fear evident in her voice when she finally responded.

"I wanted to know what was making you cry, before you collapsed. I was worried about you." An almost animal like growl left my throat.

"And what if I don't want you to fucking know why I was crying. Maybe I didn't tell you because of that!" I finally turned around to face her as I spoke, and the second I saw her, it was like a sledge hammer had smashed through me. Mira was in her chair, sobbing into her hands. _Oh god, what have I done to her?_ Tears leaked out of my own eyes as I fought to find my voice again.

"I… I'm sorry Mira i….." Amanda's words from the dream echoed through my mind, and I instantly turned toward the door, moving to leave when a very quiet voice stopped me.

"Will, don't go. Please." I froze, looking back at her to see her now watching me, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"Mira I'm so-" she quickly stood and placed a finger over my mouth, wrapping her arms around me. Utterly bewildered, I wrapped my own arms around her.

"I'm sorry Will. I shouldn't have just gone looking through your stuff. It was rude, and just wrong and I'm sorry." I chuckled softly and tightened my grip on her.

"no, Mira, this is on me. I should have just told you what was going on. I have a ring because I was planning on asking Amanda to marry me the next leave we had. She died and I didn't get the chance to ask her." Mira was silent, her body still quivering as the music continued to play, replacing our voices as the main sound in the room.

"I wonder what this song actually sounds like." Mira finally let go of me, tapping a few commands into her wrist computer to disable her translator. I listened to the female singer and the soft beat.

_"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me, I still feel your touch in my dreams. Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why, without you is hard to survive!"_ suddenly the beat changed, forming a rapid pulsing beat. _"Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling! And every time we kiss, I swear I can fly! Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last! I need you by my side."_ I smiled as I listened to the familiar song, memories of sitting in Amanda's room, listening to it for the first time in my mind. Mira suddenly started dancing to the song, her long hair flicking back and forth every time her head moved. I smiled as I watched her, totally entranced by her. As the song started to come to an end, she turned her translator back on, both of us sitting on my bed.

"We should make that our song." I smiled at her, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

"Alright. It is." She giggled and rested her head on my shoulder.

"What's it called?"

"Every time We Touch. It was made actually centuries ago by an artist called Cascada. Most of my music is that old. Something I picked up from my dad, actually. Old music that is." She smiled and I tried something I had never done around anyone yet.

"_Su'sei lui_" she gave me a shocked expression as I spoke in her language, probably the first time she had heard me speak without it being translated.

"I…. I love you too. Since when have you been learning Cornerian?" I smiled and kissed the top of her head, then resting my chin there.

"I've been trying to learn Cornerian for almost a year now. Just not much of a linguist." She laughed and then startled me.

"_We belong to-gether._" She struggled slightly with it, but she spoke English to me, shocking me.

"When did you start learning English?" she seemed to start shriveling up, clearly embarrassed.

"About a month ago. I probably suck at it. I was trying to say that we belong together." I chuckled at her, making her blush furiously. "What!?"

"Oh, you were spot on. Pronunciation was a little off, but I knew what you had said. Do you want to get something to eat?" she gave me a puzzled expression and I continued. "All I've had for the past few days is fucking jello." She laughed and nodded, the two of us stepping out of the room. Just before the door closed, I tapped a few commands into my wrist computer, silencing the music.

* * *

Bill finished tugging his boots on, having just showered. He grabbed his wallet off the desk, opening it to take a glance at the small old style photo that was in it. he sighed before closing the wallet and stuffing it into his pants. His feet carried him out of the room, carrying him across the ship until he had wormed his way up to the private Star Fox area of the ship. He heard laughter out of one of the rooms and decided to investigate, opening the door into gaming room to find Katt and Falco on one of the couches, playing a racing game on the game system that was in the room. He smiled and watched as the two piloted the racing bikes across the track, neck and neck with each other. He leaned up against the wall as they shot across the finish line, Falco's just slightly ahead of Katt's.

"Damn it! I almost had you that time!" Falco just laughed, both of them jumping when Bill spoke.

"Glad to see you two are being friendly again." Falco waved to Bill, barely looking at him as he spoke.

"Yeah, do you want to join us Bill? I could use someone else to smoke." Bill rolled his eyes and walked over, dropping between them on the couch.

"You're on Falco!" he grabbed a controller off the table in front of the couch, quickly joining the game. After several races and spectacular losses to Falco, Bill's mind began to drift back too Katina and the state it was in when they had left it. he didn't even notice as he crashed the bike in the game, his lack of attention drawing Katt and Falco's attention.

"Are you okay Bill?" he shook his head as Katt spoke, her voice continuing. "You are worried about that lady friend of yours, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I know she wasn't stationed in Harrisburg, but the situation there has me worried about the rest of the planet. I mean, they were executing the civilians by firing squad!" Katt rubbed his back as Falco spoke.

"I'm sure Fay is fine. She is your friend after all, and I know you well enough that you would have taught her to fight, if she didn't know how already." Bill shrugged, not totally convinced.

"Fay is an engineer, not a fighter. And she is kinda small. i… damn it, I'm worried about her!" tear's slipped out of his eye's, unable to stop them.

"Bill, she will be fine. We will go to Katina and liberate it. once we do, we will find her and you will learn that she is fine." Bill nodded, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

"Thanks guys. For being here." They both laughed, clapping his shoulders simultaneously.

"It's what friend are for, aint it?" Bill gave Falco a grin, looking behind him to see Will and Mira walk in, laughing about something. Almost like a locked on missile, Will seemed to instantly seek out the game system.

"Alright ladies, it is time I taught you how to play these polygonal excuses for games." Bill rolled his eyes as Will grabbed the last controller and plopped onto the couch. Within minutes, he was tied with Falco for wins, the two of them neck and neck, slowly leaving Bill and Katt's scores in the dust. Mira was snuggled up to Will, just laughing and cheering him on. During one of the intermissions, Bill glanced around at the group around him, unable to keep a smile off his mug.

* * *

Fox hesitated outside the lounge, taking a deep breath before he opened the door. Krystal and Katt were laughing about something on one of the many sofa's. Fox almost let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Saber wasn't there. He stepped into the room, instantly speaking.

"Hey Katt, hey Krystal. Where's Saber?" Katt shrugged and Krystal spoke up, a bored look on her face.

"Apparently he knew Graves and his men so he's spending some time with them." Fox nodded, silently thanking whatever god had caused that coincidence.

"Well, I was going to ask him, but never mind." Fox effortlessly acted like he was leaving, keeping Krystal's telepathy out with ease.

"Wait, ask him what?" Fox fought down a smirk as Krystal spoke, turning around and walking backwards.

"Well, with Will out of action, I don't have a sparing buddy. I thought maybe he'd be willing to go a few rounds." Krystal seemed to debate for a second, and Fox noticed Katt give her a little nudge.

"Hey Fox…. Um… wait up! I'll spar with you. Until Will is fighting again at least." Fox smiled and gestured for her to follow.

"Grab your staff. I want to get some disarming practice in." she nodded as they got on the elevator, an awkward silence filling the elevator. Krystal stepped off the elevator to grab her staff and Fox rode the elevator down to the combat deck, were the armory and training area's were. When he got in there, he stripped his jacket and dropped it in the corner. After a few minutes, Krystal stepped in, wearing a skin tight shirt and skin tight pants, almost too tight for Fox's comfort.

"Alright. Ready?" Fox nodded, assuming a combat position. "Are you really sure about this? I mean, yeah, we've done this with the training staves and knives, but never with my staff." He smiled and beckoned at her with one hand. She did a light horizontal swing at him, Fox simply swaying back out of the way.

"Come on Krys, I know you can do better than that." She gritted her teeth and swung the metal weapon in a brutal vertical swing. Fox merely stepped to the side and swept her feet out from under her. He held his hand out to her and she accepted it. Fox reassumed his combative position, waiting for her to swing again. She moved to swing vertically again, but fox could see the feint for what it was, rolling forward and under as she changed to a horizontal swing. By the time she could react, he was behind her, and doing a spiraling handspring, launching him behind her again. As soon as he landed, he leapt up again, kicking at her chest while spinning through the air. She deflected the first kick, but couldn't react to the second and third. Her staff was knocked a separate direction than she was, Fox recoiling toward the staff from the final kick. As soon as he hit the ground, he rolled, scooping the staff off the ground. "Come on Krystal, you are making this seem easy." He could see the frustration in every line of her body as she stomped over to the rack of training staves, roughly pulling one off the wall.

"Alright, I doubt you can beat me staff to staff." Fox grinned and hefted Krystal's staff in his hand, just before doing an artful twirl, ending with the staff flat against his back. He smiled at Krystal before he beckoned her forward. She lunged forward with incredible speed, thrusting the point of the staff at him. But he was faster, spinning the staff around into a two handed twirl, easily deflecting her staff up and away, leaving his staff resting on his shoulder, his back toward her. He hesitated for the barest trace of a second, then slammed the staff down on his own shoulder, flicking the point up into her staff and bouncing the staff back in front of him at the same time. As the staff came in front of him, he slid his right hand all the way down to the bulbous end, grabbing the mid way point with his other hand as he spun toward her, bouncing the staff off hers again, spinning the other way. As he did so, he let go with his left hand, grabbing the bulb and yanking the staff through his hand, just before directing the staff low and flicking it sharply up, hooking her leg under it and toppling her. Before she had even hit the ground, he had tossed the staff up slightly, catching it in a more normal grip, and brought it down on her stomach. As soon as it connected, he let go with his left hand right before his right, artfully spinning the staff in the air and catching it, bulbous end now toward Krystal. He looked down at her on the floor before releasing the staff with his left hand, letting the bulbous end clunk to the floor.

"still think you are better with the staff than me?" she glared at him as he retracted the staff, his free hand held out to her. She accepted it again and he handed her staff back to her.

"When did you get so good with this thing?" he shrugged, already sweating profusely from the short sparing match.

"Sauria. Cant use those practice staves for the life of me. Just don't feel right I guess." She smirked and nodded, clearly lost in thought about the fight. "Hey Krystal, thanks." She smiled and patted his shoulder as he spoke.

"Hey, it was nothing. We're team mates after all." Fox smiled at her as she dragged him to the center of the mats, assuming a hand to hand position. Fox did the same and nodded to her, ready to fight her again.

* * *

Saber marched into the galley, seeing Krystal in one of the corners of the room, chatting with Fox. His blood boiled slightly at seeing the two of them talking and laughing, it evaporating the second Krystal looked up. Her smile broadened and she slipped off the bench, heading straight for Saber. She kissed his cheek as soon as she was close enough to.

"Hey Krystal, I see you and Fox are talking again." She glanced back and shrugged. Fox had already moved from where he had been sitting to join Will and Mira.

"Just friends. I'd forgotten how funny he can be when he wants to be." Saber shrugged, not really wanting to agree with her on that. "Have a good time with Grave's men?" Saber smirked, remembering the nearly four hour long story swapping he had been doing.

"Yeah. We were swapping war stories. We should be at Corneria so-" Saber's voice was suddenly cut off as Peppy came over the intercom.

"All hands, Battle ready status! We'll be arriving at Corneria in thirty minutes, and we will be moving out soon after. Slippy, get the flight crew to load Nova bombs into the Arwings!" Saber gave Krystal a puzzled look, becoming even more confused at her scared expression.

"What the hell are Nova Bombs?" Krystal grimaced as saber followed her to the door, Will and Mira already ahead of them.

"They are miniature nuclear warheads. We haven't used them since the ending hours of the Aparoid war. We must be desperate to be using them again." Saber grimaced and slipped into his cabin, getting his equipment on. As soon as he had, he made his way to the bridge, seeing most of the other pilots in there, including Will in his infantry armor, his full face flight helmet tucked under his arm.

"Did Townsend clear you for flight duty will?" Will glanced at Saber and smirked.

"No. but that won't stop me from flying. Just upped the G-Diffusion fields so I don't rip something." Fox's voice startled both of them.

"You know that will slow your ship down, right Will?" he nodded to Fox, who already had his customary white jacket and HUD rig on. After a few minutes, Rob's mechanical voice filled the bridge, causing everyone to focus on the forward viewport.

"Dropping from Warp in five….four….three….two….one…. Decelerating!"


	24. Chapter 24: Fateful Shot

I watched as the blues and reds of Warp travel changed into elongated stars, just before the ship vibrated, Corneria appearing in front of the ship. Only a few kilometers away, a massive Cornerian fleet was assembling, with nearly thirty cruisers and all three of Corneria's massive dreadnaughts. Two of those dreadnaughts looked like enlarged cruisers, while the third was a massive boxy assault carrier.

"This is the Great Fox calling the Valiant, do you copy, over?" Peppy's voice echoed across the bridge as he spoke into the radio.

"Reading you loud and clear Peppy. General Pepper to all forces, For those of you who do not know, this fleet is taking back Katina. We will show these humans that we may not have the numbers they have, but we will win this war!" there were cheers and battle cries ripping through the radio. After they had settled, Pepper continued. "All Cruisers, form the web, Great Fox, you are the pinnacle." I glanced around the room, trying to see if I was the only one confused. "Orbital Gate, lock in Katina, Destroyers and fighters, prepare to give your lives to protect the cruisers. Their survival is essential to the success of this operation. But do not advance until I say so." The great Fox's view shifted as Ash piloted the ship into position, right behind the massive assault carrier, Valiant. Meanwhile, a massive green disk began forming in space, followed by a blue barrier covering the whole fleet from the gate that spread away from Pepper's flagship.

"Wow, I cant believe he actually got that working." Fox's voice sounded dreamy as he spoke.

"What is that?" my eyes slid over to Mira as she spoke.

"It's a fleet shield." Mira nodded and Peppy's voice echoed slightly after he had answered. The entire fleet started to move as one as plasma rounds ripped through the orbital gate. Every round reflected off the shield until Peppers flagship disappeared through the gate, the shots ceasing altogether. As the Great Fox passed through, an eerie green light filled the bridge. Then, just as suddenly, the light disappeared as the ship exited the gate, the almost barren planet of Katina in the view port. Weapons fire was coming from the massive fleet ahead of them, still just deflecting off the shield Peppers ship had deployed.

"Pepper to Great Fox, begin nexus charging." I looked around, completely confused and with no idea what he was asking for. The only ones who seemed to know were Peppy and Rob, both already typing commands into their consoles.

"Peppy, what the hell is the Nexus?" Peppy just grimaced as Fox spoke, just before a boom echoed through the ship. Light was blasting in off the port side and I rushed to the viewport. A lightning like energy seemed to be crackling between the Great Fox and one of the cruisers. One by one, every cruiser was linked to the Great Fox, creating a web of energy.

"Nexus charge at ninety percent." Rob's voice echoed across the bridge as I spoke.

"What the hell is going on Peppy!?" he didn't even flinch as Fox spoke, still remaining silent as he clearly waited for the charge to finish. A diamond had appeared with the enemy fleet centered in it, a lock tone filling the bridge. The charge reached one hundred percent and peppy was finally speaking.

"All ships, Fire the Nexus system in five." Peppers ship suddenly pitched downward, out of the way. "Four." Everyone on the bridge was glancing at each other, Mira giving me a wide eyed expression. "Three…. Two…. One. FIRE!" at one, the fleet shield suddenly shut down, just as a massive bolt of energy blasted away from the ship, blinding the bridge until the viewport could adjust. For every cruiser, there was a tendril of energy spiraling around the main shaft. The shaft started spinning, the tendrils spreading away from the main shaft. There was a flash of light at every point an enemy ship touched the tendrils as a net formed between the ropes of energy, the ships caught in those nets flaring and dying instantaneously. I watched in horror as ship after ship was obliterated by the weapon, wiping out all but a dozen or so cruisers and three of humanity's massive carriers. Almost ninety crusiers were caught in the blast, and even one of the rare dreadnaughts was destroyed in the onslaught.

"Wh-what did we just do?" Mira's quiet voice echoed slightly in the now silent bridge. Even the consoles were dark and lifeless.

"What we had to do." Peppy's voice was no more than a soft whisper.

"Peppy, do you even realize how many people we just killed!? Human ships aren't like Cornerian, which require very few crew members. Even a cruiser can have as many as thirty thousand people aboard!" my voice cracked slightly as I spoke, a shocked horror filling me. A single tear slid down Peppy's fur as the rabbit's eyes closed.

"I know." After Peppy spoke, the communications gear fired up, Pepper's voice already emanating from it.

"-stroyers and Fighters, move forward and shield the cruisers. Cruisers, get your shields and weapons back online ASAP." I glanced at Fox as he gripped the arms of his command chair, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

"You heard him. All pilots, to the hanger bay for combat deployment."

* * *

Rear Admiral Hawkins stared at the digital view screen in front of him, horrified at the scene before him. Nearly a hundred cruisers and their escorts were now nothing but floating hunks of metal, made so by whatever weapon the Cornerians had just deployed from almost sixty kilometers away. Even the U.S.S. Everest, the Lincoln's heavy support ship, a dreadnaught class vessel of near six kilometers, was destroyed in the torrent of energy launched. The total numbers of lives lost in that single shot was staggering, already estimated on the screen as nearly seven million people. All gone in the space of a few seconds, with no chance of defense.

"My god, I knew Cornerian tech was way beyond our own… but.. but I never imagined they could do something like that…" his weapons chief's voice filled the silent bridge as every set of eyes was riveted to the screen.

"Monroe, how many ships do I have left?" his sensor specialist was flicking through the screens, speaking quickly.

"Seven. Two cruisers, three destroyers, and two frigates." Hawkins cursed, knowing he had just lost nearly thirty cruisers and over sixty of their escorts. Only a handful of those ships had been from nations other than the United States.

"All ships, deploy bombers on strike loads, no armor. Take out their ships while they are unshielded. Then I want all vessels to double time it to the far side of the planet. Do not engage those ships directly, relay that command to all surviving vessels, American and otherwise." A series of aye-ayes echoed across the bridge as the fighters were deployed. His sensor specialist suddenly spoke up.

"Sir, we got new contacts warping in. looks like the Cerberus." Cerberus was the name given to three Russian dreadnaughts that always acted as a fleet of it's own, capable of wiping out entire fleets with just three ships. There had been a fourth ship in the fleet, but Hawkins himself had lead a strike to buy time for the other fleet ships, leading three squadrons of fighters against the behemoths. Only three of those fighters had survived, but they had managed to kill one of the ships. "And looks like at least three dozen Russian cruisers are with them, as well as a UK dreadnaught." Hawkins nodded as he responded.

"Orders still stand, fall back and give fighter support for those ships."

* * *

Kyle eased his fighter out of the bay of the nine kilometer long Russian flagship, the Russian fleet having only just Warped back to Katina. There were just over a hundred enemy ships ahead of them, but almost a third seemed unpowered.

"Reznov to all of Razors Edge. Our target remains the same as it has for this whole war. Eliminate the Star Fox team and demoralize the enemy. Come brothers, their flagship is vulnerable!" he followed the others toward the fleet, taking a deep breath in hopes that he didn't kill Will in the coming minutes.

* * *

I gunned my fighter out of the hanger, not comfortable at all with not being able to feel the fighter move. I tried to shove that aside as a new fleet dropped in, almost as big as the one that had just been destroyed. Three friendly cruisers were destroyed before the destroyers could move into blocking positions between the kinetic based Russian vessels and their targets. Fighters were already pouring from their ships, swarms of the massive bearcats and a new fighter I had never seen before. They looked like the Chinese Fire Arrows, but much more elongated and a lot faster.

"Alright, protecting the Great Fox takes priority one, but if you can do so and defend the other ships, do it. Stick with your wingman and hold nothing back!" Fox's voice dissipated over the comm and I glanced at Mira before using the battle-net to see where the enemy fighters were going. One squadron of fighters stood out to me, racing ahead of the pack and making a bee line for the Great Fox. They looked similar to the Raptor, but had ion engines in the back, as well as the cockpit being at the front of the craft, for a more human like fighter than the Raptor. I aimed for the lead fighter and rammed the throttle forward, Mira tight on my wing.

"Ah, I see the flying Foxies intend to stop us! Kill them all!" I recognized the voice from the lead fighter and opened fire, almost simultaneously with them. Their shots were silvery instead of blue, making me curse and dodge, one shot piercing clean through my shielding and tearing a furrow in the nose of my fighter.

"Watch out, we got razors edge again, and they are packing tungsten rounds!" I rolled and flipped as they passed beneath me, shocked and scared when they seemed to be ignoring me and Mira, simply bulldozing their way toward the Great Fox. I gunned after them, firing bursts of unlinked fire into their rear shields. But, even with the throttle maxed out, the enemy fighters were easily pulling away. "Fuck! I cant keep up with them and they are bull dozing straight for the 'Fox!" one of the Fighters peeled away from their formation, looping back toward me. A second later, a familiar voice burst of our comms.

"Alright, lets settle who is the better pilot, once and for all!" I smirked at Kyle's voice, rolling my eyes in the process.

"Mira, go have fun, I got this one." I looked at her canopy as she nodded to me and split off. "And Kyle, if you beat me, it don't mean you are a better pilot, merely in a better fighter." I heard him growl over the radio as he opened fire. I neatly pitched and rolled around the deadly bolts, easily dodging them. Now that the distance had closed between our fighters, I suddenly rolled, adjusting the collective as I did so, so that my fighter would jump to the side. He had been reacting to the head on course I had been on, pitching up and right into an easy to follow vector. I smirked as I rammed my feet on the pedals, then pitched and released the pedals, shooting after him. He rolled and juked, using the strange G-diffuser set up to juke and move in irregular patterns, but to no avail as I placed linked blast after linked blast into his fighter.

"Damn it Will! Get off my ass!" I chuckled as he dove, easily following.

"But I like being back here. How's Ash by the way?" there was a sudden hesitation in his maneuvering, clearly being caught off guard by my casual voice.

"I… um she's fine? Sends me videos every week or so." I chuckled as he slammed on his G-diffusers, forcing me to juke past him. As soon as I passed, I did the same and pitched, snapping the nose of my fighter back toward him in the barest trace of a second.

"oh, I bet most of those videos are 'private time' vids, aren't they?" he pitched out of my weapons fire and I gunned after him, eerily feeling no movement what so ever in my craft.

"Naw, only a couple of 'em are." We both laughed as we chased each other through the exploding ships, almost totally ignoring everything else.

"Lieutenant! You are not a member of this squadron to talk to the enemy, you are here to kill them!" I smirked and responded for Kyle.

"Oh don't worry, we're trying to kill each other. But a little casual conversation is not bad as we do so." Even Kyle started laughing with me as I dropped his shields, putting a pair of burns on his hull.

"You little…." Before the thick accented Russian could continue, I spoke again, already pitching and ruddering toward the source of it.

"Excuse me for a second while I deal with a fly." I adjusted again, then dumb fired a Nova bomb at the leader of Razor's edge, Kyle taking the chance to slip in behind me. I rolled away and juked, still focused on the missile until the explosive detonated, having struck it's target directly. Surprisingly, as the blue explosion dissipated, his fighter was still intact, albeit heavily damaged. One of his engines was sparking, and all but two of his G-diffusers were sparking. "Alright, back to killing you Kyle." I rolled and pitched, ducking behind a massive bearcat for a second. I continued to pitch though, hitting my G-diffusers and pulling the yoke as far back as I possibly could. His fighter came into my view, on a direct head to head. I fired first, seeing my shot tear into one of his G-diffusers, knocking his fighter off course. His shots went wide as I pounded a few more shots into his fighter, his voice suddenly appearing over the radio.

"Damn it! I gotta pull out!" I smirked and rolled around, about to go after the other Razors edge fighters when I saw them running, weapons fire tearing away from the Great Fox in deadly volleys. It's main cannons fired and I traced the shot, seeing a human cruiser split in half. Other cruisers around the fleet were coming back online, their superior speed, enabling them to move into enemy blind spots for easy enemy kills. Russian ships were suddenly scattering, their lower tech vessels unable to combat the power of the Cornerian warships. One of the four dreadnaughts stayed, two cruisers flanking it. Plasma rounds ripped away from it, followed by a volley of missile fire. A cruiser and three destroyers were obliterated by the fire from the dreadnaught, causing allied forces to pull away from the ships.

"Pepper to the Star Fox team, allied forces are requesting support to destroy that Dreadnaught."

* * *

Fox heard the call from Pepper and instantly spoke as he ducked and weaved through the strange manned fighters they were facing.

"Peppy, I need you to knock that dreadnaughts shields down, pound on it, everyone else, interdict enemy fighters until the shielding is down, then target the ships weapons with your nova bombs, that should help the fleet kill it, and see if we cant get our other dreadnaughts to help out!" he pitched and rolled as two of the dart like fighters ripped onto his tail. He had quickly learned that they were extremely fast, but not particularly maneuverable. He rammed on his g-diffusers, but not quite all the way, letting him do a sudden, shallow loop as he pitched. The two small craft shot underneath him, one accelerating away, the other finding itself in his crosshairs and drifting lazily apart. He smirked, just before a blinding flash of light shot by his vision, marking the trail of one of the Great Fox's cannons, heat alarms were going off like crazy, and his shields had nearly dropped out completely from a simple near miss from the weapons. "Damn it Peppy, you nearly shot me!" he juked and rolled, right onto the tail of a bearcat, his vision still blurred from the plasma shot.

"Well, get the hell out of the way Fox, do a barrel roll if you have to!" Fox rolled his eyes as his prey ducked and weaved through the massive dogfight still ensuing, trying to dodge Fox to no avail. Fox saw the shields burst on the fighter, and was about to fire again when a pair of green bolts ripped through the top of the craft, blasting it to pieces. He glanced up as Will's Arwing dropped into the trail position on Fox.

"Getting slower old man. Or am I just getting faster?" Fox rolled his eyes at Will before shooting after a pair of the darts. One managed to get away, but the other burst into pieces.

"I think Fox is just getting slower Will, he used to be able to nail fast movers like that in his sleep." He saw Falco's fighter rip by the other way, taking down a tomcat.

"Peppy to pilots, that dreadnaught's shields are down. Its now or never!" Fox rolled and pitched, racing toward the ship through massive volumes of plasma fire. He zeroed in on one of the guns, roughly halfway along the ship and fired. Little did he know, every other Star Fox member had just aimed at the same gun, including the great fox. Eight pairs of linked Nova bombs all slammed into the ship in rapid succession, tearing the hull away and blasting a huge chunk out of the ship. The Great Fox's cannon shot followed, blowing into the ship. Fox was shocked for a second, and was turning to fire on other parts of the ship when the ship suddenly exploded, blasting into hundreds of massive chunks.

"Damn, what the hell did we hit?" Will's voice came over the comm line after Bill had spoken, sounding almost sad.

"We must have hit the reactor room, overloaded the whole ship." The rest of the human ships, including the fighters were quickly turning tail and leaving, the darts being the first gone out of all the ships. Cheers ripped across the radio from the Cornerian ships, just before Pepper's somber voice spoke.

"Men, we lost nearly forty percent of our ground force. Pilots, we look to you to provide the vital airstrikes we need to win this battle, and successfully take back our planet! Now, FORWARD!" the Cornerian ships all lined up as one in a massive, three tiered wedge, the Great Fox II at the tip of the point, and then all of the ships engines fired as one, blasting the fleet forward toward the planet.

* * *

Krystal slipped into place beside Katt, the Star Fox team forming the point of a five tiered wedge of fighters, all in front of the cruisers. She made a few adjustments to her G-diffusers as they dived for the atmosphere. No one spoke as flame rose up past their canopies, either to focused or to mortified by what they had done to the human vessels. After a few seconds, her master alarm rang out, hundreds of surface based missile batteries launched high velocity missiles at them. There had to be at least two missiles per fighter, even with the sheer number of fighters entering the atmosphere.

"All ships, target those missiles and try to get low! Hopefully they wont be able to target us at low altitude!" Krystal didn't bother replying to Fox as she unlinked her lasers and opened fire. Missile after missile detonated under the shear volume of fire unleashed by the squadrons, but for every missile destroyed, it seemed as though three more took its place. Bottlenose fighters, Arwings, and SODF's, or the sub-orbital defense fighters, exploded at terrifying rates around them. She frantically kept up the fire until the missiles suddenly stopped, replaced with Flak fire. Their fighters shook like crazy as they all pitched up and scattered, targeting any ground based anti air weapon they could find, trying to give the ground forces a chance of reaching the ground.

"Fox! How are we doing!?" she ducked and weaved through the fire, seeing missiles streak in from beyond the horizon, finding and destroying fighters, having to dodge a few herself.

"Almost three fifths of our fighters are gone! That means we need to kick this into overdrive. Team, you are cleared for the use of Nova bombs in atmosphere!" she almost audibly cursed before letting loose one of the powerful warheads into a missile battery. An explosion blew the entire area apart, almost three city blocks worth of space gone in the space of a heartbeat. Similar blue flashes detonated around the area, blowing chunks out of the desert landscape. Slowly, as more explosions spread further and further out, the anti-air fire began to thin out enough, to the point that the allied craft were gaining control of the airspace. "Fox to General Pepper, it aint safe, but the LZ is now open sir!" Krystal narrowly dodged a burst of cannon fire, looping around and targeting the cannon.

"Hey Will, don't get yourself shot down now, I got a little present for ya!" she was kind of shocked at Falco saying that, almost more like he was trying to break the tension of the situation.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about Falco!" Falco didn't respond as she fired off her last bomb at an armored convoy, wiping the whole group off the map. She glanced down at her RADAR, shocked to see that the area was devoid of all hard targets.

"Krystal to Fox, sector J cleared of hostiles. Requesting new combat sector." Similar reports were starting to flood in from the squadron leaders and other Star Fox leaders, bringing a smile to her face.

"All ships, return to the Landing Zone and provide close air support for the first wave. Give those grunts the best damned chance we can!" Krystal banked her fighter around, just as targets began to be highlighted in her HUD. The first dropships were in the atmosphere, racing toward the selected LZ. She gunned her engines, already firing her cannons at the foot soldiers and tanks, the fighter mounted weapons tearing through the ground forces like butter. She left a trail of destruction in her wake, followed by the other fighters in the squadron. As she banked around, a flak blast nailed her fighter, blasting one of the wings clean off and violently shaking her fighter.

"Krystal, you okay?" Saber's interceptor drifted up beside her as he spoke, Krystal easily feeling the worry seeping off of him.

"Yeah, but the whole right side of my fighter is trashed. I gotta pull out. Sorry guys." She was already pitching up as Fox responded.

"It's alright Krys, all pilots, pull out to rearm and repair. The first wave has already begun clearing the landing zone, and the second wave should be down shortly. Fox out." Krystal glanced back at the catered battlefield they had left in their wake and grimaced, not wanting to even think just how many people the Star Fox team had killed today.

* * *

My limbs tremored as I dropped out of the fighter, slumping up against the rack for it as the other Arwings trickled in. my eyes looked up as a pair of boots trotted over to me, instantly seeing Mira as she sat beside me.

"will, are you okay, you look a little shaken up." I shook my head, trying to force the image off the human ships being demolished from my mind. No matter how hard I tried, the shaking would not stop. I felt her hand undo the buckles and Velcro that held my armor together, pulling it over my bare head. As soon as it was off, she rubbed her hand on my back, slowly soothing the shaking with nothing more than her touch. "Shhh, it's okay Will." I closed my eyes and ran both shaking hands through my hair, a single tear slipping out.

"I…. we just slaughtered so many people, so… mercilessly. How can it be okay Mira?" my voice was as shaken as my body as I finally looked her in the eyes, their vibrant sapphire color as entrancing to me as the first time I saw them. She pressed her forehead against mine before gently kissing my cheek, sending an almost wave through my body, finally soothing the shaking.

"We're soldiers Will, and a soldier does what they have too to protect their team mates. You told me that once." I closed my eyes as I responded to her, still unable to shake the filthy feeling growing within my heart.

"I…. I don't want to be a soldier anymore…." My voice was no more than a whisper as tears started to flood out of my eyes, completely uncontrolled. Mira's hand froze for a second before she continued to stroke my back.

"Will, i…." her voice was cut off by a new voice, causing my eyes to open.

"Hey, uh this a bad time?" Falco was standing above us, holding what looked like a picture frame. Mira shook her head and he crouched in front of us. "Well, I snapped this before we left Sauria. Thought you two might like it." he handed Mira the frame, which she quickly showed to me. I dashed my tears away, seeing the photo and nearly letting my jaw drop. He had somehow managed to frame the two of us on the cot near perfectly, the blazing orange sunset shining through our partially intertwined bodies perfectly.

"Wow Falco. Who would have thought you could take a photo?" he smirked and waved it off as he stood.

"Don't mention it. We got about twenty minutes before we go back out there, so get some R and R." I nodded to him and was almost instantly caught off guard by Mira as she spoke.

"Will, whatever you choose, I won't leave you. If you want to leave and stop fighting, I will go with you. Just, think about Fox and the others first, okay?" I nodded and let her drag me to my feet, still lost in thought as she led me back to our cabin.

* * *

Fox checked the hydrogen pack in Bill's heavy blast rifle before sliding it into the cargo bay of his Arwing. Pepper had just said he needed some skilled recon team leaders to lead pathfinder and infantry teams in coordinated strikes, as well as helping find enemy hard points, such as fire bases and forward operating bases. As soon as he had slid his assault pack into the bay, he started looking around the hanger for Will. He wanted Will up in the sky, ready to provide close support to any who might need it. Will was nowhere to be found, so he decided to call up Will's wrist computer.

"Hey Fox, just on my way down to the hanger, was packing some essentials." He glanced down to see the screen showing Will and Mira moving through the halls of the ship, a bag over Will's shoulder.

"Well, I'm calling to let you two know that you are flyin emergency air support, Mira, you and the other Star Fox members are running strike teams down there." Will's face fell, clearly at odds with that. But his voice was surprisingly light as he responded.

"Damn, and I just packed all of my high explosives too! See ya in the hanger, Hawkins out." Fox shrugged about to climb up into his Starfighter when Falco's voice stopped him.

"Hey Foxie! Need me to fly cover too?" Fox glanced at him, then dropped into the pilot's seat of his Arwing.

"Nah, need you on the ground. I'm only having Will hang back because of his lung." Falco's shoulders slumped and he glared at Fox.

"McCloud, I hate you sometimes. You know I hate bein on the ground." Fox just chuckled and sealed his canopy. Falco was visibly cursing and complaining, throwing his arms up in the air as he walked off. Suddenly Bill's voice filled his cockpit as he brought his fighter online.

"Fox, can ya hear me?" he quickly linked his HUD rig into his fighter and activated his radio.

"Loud and clear Bill, what's up?" there was a few seconds of silence before he spoke, his voice very rigid.

"Requesting permission to go off mission?" Fox looked behind his fighter, seeing Bill in his.

"Sorry Bill, not this time. I know you want to go find that Fay chick, but we have a whole damn planet to secure first. Okay?" Bill didn't respond, shocking Fox. He was never one to not speak, and it frankly worried Fox. Fox shrugged and watched as the others filed into the bay. Will was the last into his fighter, having to strap all of his armor back on. As soon as he was in his fighter, Fox was speaking again.

"alright, all ships, launch!"

* * *

Bill gently lifted his fighter off the deck plating just before shooting out of the hanger. All of his thoughts were focused on one white furred canine. He almost didn't even notice as they entered the atmosphere. A few flak rounds detonated around them as they dived deeper into the atmosphere, none of them with enough power to damage their fighters. He gracefully brought his fighter down to landing area, which was filled with boxy Cornerian transports and the smaller assault shuttles like those in the Great Fox's rear bay. An area had been cleared and a pair of soldiers were using modified flashlights to act as guide lights for their fighters, Bill gracefully landing behind Saber as all of the fighters set down. He swiftly opened the canopy and leapt out, quickly opening his cargo bay and pulling his assault gear out. He had left behind the chaingun, switching for one of the heavy plasma repeaters. He was sliding the strap over his shoulder and back pack when familiar voices carried over to him.

"So they want me taking orders from you? Like hell I will!" he glanced up to see Graves and his men talking to Mira. She seemed to shrivel up slightly at his words, but still stood her ground.

"I don't want you to follow my orders, I want to follow yours. I'm no tactician Graves. More a specialist than anything." Graves was caught off guard for a second, leaving enough time for Cal to but in.

"Well hey sexy, I'll gladly take orders from you." Bill couldn't help but chuckle at the glare Mira gave him.

"Oh shove off, perv." Lou apparently took this as his que to speak, elbowing Cal hard in the ribs.

"Well, you better keep an eye on him Mira. I wont be there to do so. I'm hanging back to fix the assault vehicles. And your fighters, should they need it." he craned over their heads to try and look around. "Where's Will?"

"He's still in his fighter, Fox wants him flying top cover." Lou nodded and walked off, Bill shrugging and moving off to find Fox. After few seconds, he found Fox over by the command tent, speaking with a lieutenant.

"Hey Fox, where am i?" he looked up and waved Bill over.

"Bill. This is Lieutenant Greene. Me and you will be with his platoon, assaulting a supply convoy. Were splitting in to two teams, one team will take the anti-tank and vehicle weapons up on this ridgeline, as well as the sniper rifles, the other will be along the road here. The top team provides cover, the lower team destroys the convoy. I'm with the over watch team, your with the assault team with Greene, got it?" Bill nodded and shook hands with the lieutenant. He had an average snout and was tri-colored, brown, black, and white, all in semi-random splotches. With out a word, he led the way to his unit, Fox and Bill following. After a short shouted briefing, Greene's soldiers were shouldering gear and marching out, Fox, Bill, and Greene at the front of the formation. They moved in silence, leaving the base within minutes. The lack of enemy opposition outside the landing zone puzzled Bill, given Cornerians would be fighting tooth and nail to hold back the aggressors. Whereas, the UEC seemed to have already given up it's fight although there were shell holes and a few tank husks, the front lines had no signs of active conflict. He shrugged, content to not have to fight. The march to the ambush spot seemed to take forever in the dead silence of the group. The area was a shallow canyon, with a road twisting and turning through the bottom. The two groups split almost silently, Bill sliding down the slope until he was just a few meters from the road, still hidden in the rocks. He had just settled in, his SAW resting on the rocks when a convoy of vehicles appeared down the bend from them. Most of them were four wheeled, unlike Cornerian ground vehicles, which used G-Diffusers to hover. The boxy armored vehicles were led by one of humanity's few hovering vehicles, a very angular tank with an angular twin barreled turret. There were a few other tanks, one dominating all vehicles Bill had seen in size. It was at least the size of two long cargo trucks, with a massive single barreled mass driver turret on the back, the barrel extending past the front of the tank. Stacked on top of that turret was another smaller twin barreled plasma cannon, just like on the smaller hover tanks. It was also treaded, being too heavy to use G-Diffusers.

"Alright, target those forward vehicles, I'm calling an airstrike on that behemoth." Fox's voice echoed over the radio as Bill sighted in on one of the wheeled assault vehicles. His SAW had enough power to rip through the armor on them like butter. The convoy was almost abreast with them when a booming crack filled Bill's ears, almost deafening him. His bewildered eyes tracked the source of the sound, seeing the tiny fading speck that was Will's Arwing. He was confused for a second, thinking Will had shot by, doing nothing, only to see another speck rip into the massive tank, a booming echo following it. Bill suspecting that whatever ordinance Will had dropped, had been dropped before he accelerated to the insane speed he was moving at. For a second, nothing happened, just a small hole punched in the side of the tank. Suddenly, as if a cannon had gone off, the tank burst into thousands of shards, the blue hued explosion enveloping several other vehicles in the convoy. He grinned and opened fire, missiles ripping over his head and crippling most of the armored vehicles in the convoy. Bill's red plasma bolts were ripping through the vehicle he was aiming at, only a couple of the soldiers inside stumbling out, one collapsing right there. But, just as he was swiveling to another target, ripping cracks echoed away from the convoy, marking the hi-tech kinetic rifles part of the UEC used. It seemed that every soldier in the convoy was firing at the hillside and ridgeline, not really shooting at them, but enough of the slugs were landing around them that most of the Cornerians were ducked down. A soldier beside Bill screamed in agony, Bills eyes widening when he saw that the kinetic round had ripped the soldiers arm clean off.

"Fucking brutal….." he keyed up his radio, jumping onto the Star Fox frequency. "Will, can you do another fly by? They got us pinned good!" he didn't hear Will's response as a burst of rounds shattered through the rocks he was hiding behind, pelting him with small chunks. Suddenly, he heard the sound of Starfighter cannons, the gunfire ceasing. He peeked up, seeing the enemy troops scatter as Will's Arwing banked back around. He was in the middle of a second run when red bolts ripped through his shields and into one of the G-Diffusers.

"Damn it, sorry, I gotta bug out. Gonna try to keep these Bear cats off yall!" a pair of the bulky fighters shot overhead, Bill being yanked up as a new voice rang in his ears.

"Forward! Push these bastards back to hell!" Lieutenant Greene was standing over him, Bill cursing before yanking his carbine out and following. The whole of the squad was rushing down the hill, toward the ruined convoy vehicles. He slowed as a soldier in front of him took and round, but kept running when he saw the fist sized hole punched clean through his chest. His breath was heaving when he reached the first vehicle. Two humans were stepping around the ruined husk as Bill slid to a stop, snapping off a flurry of rapid blasts. One of the soldiers was caught by it, dropping him. The other just had his armor singed as he ducked back. Greene ripped past Bill, firing his blast rifle into the soldier Bill had just singed. "Come on! I thought you Star Fox members were supposed to be better than that!" Greene was smiling at him. The expression was frozen on his face as Bill heard a massive boom, out gunning anything he had heard in his life, just before he was blasted off his feet. His hears were ringing so badly that he couldn't even hear the gunfire anymore. He had to be at least twenty meters from where he had been, and where Greene had been was nothing but a crater. A pair of the massive tanks were rolling down the other ridgeline, at least a dozen hover tanks following. Dust and sand was blasted into the air as the other behemoth fired. An entire section of the ridgeline was blasted away by the massive mass driver.

"Oh shit…." He didn't even hear his own voice as he saw the armored group. Before their force could be annihilated, a streak of dust shot over the canyon. There was a slight glint off whatever the large object was, just before it dropped toward the ground, firing a pair of true lasers from its shoulders, the blue beams easily slicing through one of the behemoths like butter. The strange machine landed on the ground, blasting the area with dust. The machine, what ever it was, almost looked like a suit, half crouched, one hand on the ground and facing the armored unit, the other with a long slender rifle in it. On each shoulder was a small red hot tube, only about the size of Bill's leg. Off it's back were four G-Diffusers, like those on the Arwings but sticking out in four separate directions, the center where they connected having two small gimbaled ion engines. It stood and aimed the long rifle at the other massive tank, firing a single shot. A streak of light appeared, rather than a visible bolt, blasting the tank apart on impact. As soon as it fired, the engines pointed sideways, the G-diffusers shifting with them so the mech could blast to the side. Although fast, the movement didn't carry the suit far enough, a pair of tank shots ripping into one arm, blasting it off. It one handed the rifle and fired again and again, as more shots ripped into the chassis. Chunks of armor were being blasted away by tank shots as the two lasers popped up, slicing through tanks. It fired the sniper cannon one last time, destroying the last tank, but the mech was torn into ribbons. It began to slump forward before a capsule shot away from it, impacting the rocky ridge the tanks had swept down. Bill shot to his feet, blasting a human he had only seen out of the corner of his eye. He had only made it a few steps when an arm swung out, slamming into his chest and flattening him. All he saw was the blue sky above, until a muzzle was rammed into his face. The human grinned, his finger tightening on the trigger when a small white lance ripped through his head. Bill's eyes flicked up to the ridge, where the shot had originated from, to see a figure stumbling their way down the cliff. He rolled back onto his feet, sprinting up the hill. He saw the pilot fall behind an out cropping and he ran for it, leaping over and sliding onto his back on the other side.

"Are you….?" His voice froze as he recognized the delicate looking canine beside him, her long slender muzzle, enormous amount of bright white curls, and deep blue eyes. "Fay!" she smiled at him, weakly.

"Hi Bill. I was wondering when you would show up." He ignored the weapons fire around them, rolled over, and wrapped his arms around her, happy to be able to easily feel her soft body through the tight flight suit she was wearing.

"What the hell was that thing you were piloting?" he finally let go of her as he spoke, peaking up to fire a burst at a soldier shooting at them.

"That special project I was assigned too. We got the idea from the human mechs and powered armor." He grinned and tapped her arm, just before taking off back down the hill. He slid to a stop at the debris, a pair of Cornerians covering them. She was still a few feet from them when a human stepped out from his cover, a single round ripping out of his gun and through Fay's stomach. Her eyes went wide and she slammed to the ground, blood staining her pure white fur and armor. Little did he know, Bill's howl of rage deafened the soldiers beside him as he leapt away, straight toward Fay.


	25. Chapter 25: Noriega's End

Fox trotted down the ridge, heading toward where he had last seen Bill, darting out to grab the pilot of the strange mech suit. Nearly two thirds of their force was already dead or wounded, making Fox want to curse this war himself. If losses kept going the way they were, the Cornerians would lose by default. After the Lylat war and the Aparoid threat, the population in Lylat was almost half that of Sol, and with way more crippled veterans as well. He walked through the burning husks of vehicles, bodies being pulled aside and lined up by the road, human on one side, Lylatian on the other. As he rounded one of the tanks, he heard a voice he could not mistake for anyone but Bill's echoing to him.

"Come on Fay, hang in there!" the second her heard the pain in Bill's voice, Fox rushed over to them, seeing him crouched over a delicate white canine. She had a hole about a centimeter in diameter through her stomach, blood quickly and easily flooding past Bill's fingers, dying them and her grey nano-fiber suit deep crimson.

"Holy shit! Here!" Fox quickly dropped beside Bill, dropping his pack and rifle to dig through it. he finally found the sealant can he had stuffed in there, sticking the nozzle into her wound and spraying. She gasped and let out a faint cry the second the nozzle touched her. "There, that will keep her from bleeding out at least. Come on, we need to get her back to camp." Bill didn't even flinch, his eyes fixed on Fay's almost glazed over eyes.

"Fay?" his voice was almost a whisper, both of his blood stained hands clutched on one of hers. He could see the tears leaking out of his eyes, sliding under the visor. She was still writhing in pain, and seemed to be barely even conscious at all. "F-ay, I, p-please be okay! I don't want to lose you!" he pulled his helmet off and kissed her cheek before resting his fore head on her cheek. Her eyes slowly slid closed, sending Bill into a panic. "Fay! Wake up! P-Please Wake up!" Fox could see her chest rise and fall. He grabbed Bill's shoulder and shook him slightly, having never in his entire life seen the cool headed canine panic like this.

"Bill, she's still alive, okay?" Bill was still shaking like mad, but nodded to Fox. "Now lets get her back to the LZ, the freighter is being sent to Corneria with the wounded. Lets make sure she is on it, okay?" Bill nodded as Fox quickly gathered his equipment and slung it, about to help Bill pick Fay up, but Bill simply hooked his arms under her neck and knees, easily lifting her up. Fox led the way up the ridge until his radio suddenly lit up.

"Fox! We're pinned down, and Will said something about being hit!" he stepped aside as Mira's voice echoed out of his earpiece. He cursed to himself, knowing she was on a simple recon mission with a small team.

"Alright Mira, start talking!" there was silence for a few seconds before the sound of a plasma rifle started echoing through.

"Shit, Cal look out! We're knee deep in humans here! We were on our way back and they ambushed us! Transmitting co-ordinates now!" Fox was almost instantly shouting.

"Bill, get Fay back, I gotta take the rest of Greene's men to help Mira, she's pinned down real close to here." Bill didn't even seem to react as Fox opened his radio.

"All active members of Greene's platoon, rally on the convoy, see if we can scavenge an operational vehicle. We got some troopers to rescue!"

* * *

Mira dived to the sandy ground, narrowly ducking the burst of automatic fire ripping over her. A hand grabbed her armor and yanked her to her feet as the person shouted at her.

"Damn it, move!" she instantly recognized Graves' voice as she sprinted away, only to be forced to cover again by more gun fire.

"They got us surrounded Graves!" she hollered back as she pulsed the trigger at a pair of soldiers, forcing them to duck down.

"Just keep shooting kid! They'll run if we kick their asses bad enough!" Mira tried to fight down the spike of fear running through her, remembering Will's brief on Russian 'Rush' tactics. They would never retreat from losses alone. Cal slid up beside her, aiming his massive sniper rifle and firing it. she didn't have to look by now to know he had scored a hit.

"Hanging in there?" she nodded, firing a charged blast at a human, his torso evaporating. Yellow streaks ripped past on occasion, marking only one out of every five or so rounds fired at them, the volumes of fire creating a miniature dust storm around them. Her radio crackled to life with Will's voice and she ducked down to listen.

"Mira, just hang in there, I'm on my way." Bewilderment coursed through her mind as she keyed up her mic to respond.

"Didn't your fighter get totaled?" she heard a faint laugh echo out of her rig.

"I brought Sally. Just hang in there okay?" anger quickly boiled out of her, furious with him.

"Will, what the fuck do you think you are doing!? Get your ass back to base, you are in no condition to fight you idiot!" he didn't respond making her curse out loud. She was about to pop up again when she was splattered with blood, one of Graves troopers slumping over. She didn't need to check to see if he was alive, given the hole punched through his sternum.

"Mira, I'm on my way, give me two minutes and I'll be there, just hold on!" she absently nodded as Fox spoke and turned toward Graves already yelling.

"Reinforcements in two mikes Graves!" he was standing and firing at the enemy, and hadn't reacted to her words when a yellow lance ripped seemingly past his head. He slowly pivoted as he fell, causing a sight that was instantly burned into Mira's mind. Half of his head was gone, blown away by the kinetic round. The contents of her stomach emptied into the dirt, unable to stop it.

"Mira!" she felt Cal rip her off her feet, almost simultaneously with a yelp and the sound of a round ripping by. Cal slumped over on her and she quickly shoved him off, seeing the mass of blood on her vest. Cal was wheezing, a three centimeter hole through the side of his chest and clean out the other. Tears slipped out of her eyes as Cal's glazed over, lifeless. All around her, soldiers were dropping dead.

"Will, I'm not going make it." her heart felt like it had shattered as she said that into her radio, her carbine forgotten in the dust as the gunfire died off.

"What!? Mira, hang in there, I'm almost there!" Tears streamed out of her eyes until she closed them, her entire body shaking.

"Everyone else is dead Will. I'm so sorry." She pulled her HUD rig off and tossed it into the dirt, simply waiting for one of the soldiers to find her and kill her.

* * *

I almost didn't wait for the jet bike to stop before I was slinging off of it, ripping the sniper rifle I had hurriedly strapped to the hull off and focusing down the hill. All that was below was a mass of Russian troops and armor, until I found the piles of bodies, dead Cornerians scattered amongst them. I kept scanning until I located Mira, in a small out cropping, on her knees and with four soldiers surrounding her, weapons raised. An APC hovered to a stop beside the rocks, an unmistakable figure climbing out. The slicked back black hair and solid black uniform was as clear as a calling card. Noriega walked up to Mira and crouched in front of her, seeming to speak for a few seconds, before he stood, backed off a short way and aimed his pistol at her. A white stun round ripped out of his weapon, causing her to slump over. I growled, already sighted and squeezing the trigger when I suddenly stopped. _if I fire now, with no support, I'm dead. And I'm no good to Mira dead._

"Fox, Mira was just captured. I… Noriega has her."

* * *

I shuddered as I watched the Russian soldiers load Mira's limp body onto one of their APC's, tears slowly finding their way down my cheeks. Wild thoughts kept running through my mind, trying to figure out how I could save her, until a small voice spoke in the back of my mind. _You cant Will. Not this time._ The worst part about that single thought, was the fact that I agreed with it. I had no way to save her, even if Fox arrived and attacked with an entire army, the second someone tried something, Noriega could kill her, making the effort entirely futile. My eyes closed and I slumped up against a boulder, tears flowing uncontrollable down my face.

"Damn it!" my voice was soft as I spoke nothing more than a pained whisper.

"Will, we're getting close, need a SITREP." Fox's voice spilled out of the small earpiece I had on, replacing the com gear that was normally in my helmet.

"It's too late Fox. We have no way to safely track her, and they'll just kill her if we attack now." He was silent for several minutes before he finally spoke up.

"Will, we _will_ find her. I'm sending you co-ordinates, meet me there with Sally. Got it?" I absently nodded, brushing tears away from my face and re-lashing the sniper rifle to the hull of the bike. With in minutes, the arid landscape was whipping by at an incredible speed, dust flying behind me. Fox's co-ordinates lead to a small oasis, where a small group of Cornerians were gathered around a pair of UEC wheeled personnel carriers. I slowed to a stop, easily spotting Fox's helmetless head. The other Cornerians were slowly filing back into the vehicles, about to move out.

"I hope you have a damned good plan Fox!" he glanced up from a holo-map as I spoke, sliding off of the jet bike. He gestured at the area map as he responded, seeming almost calm, even with the angry demeanor I had slipped into.

"Sort of. There is a base in this dark zone, has all sorts of jammers and defenses, nothing like the FOB's we've been fighting. I have a theory that Noriega is there." I glared at him, waiting for the soldiers to clear out before I spoke.

"You are going to risk her life on a fucking theory!" he sighed panning the map out until it showed the whole area.

"Will, not only is that the closest base, but it's jammers are preventing any kind of 3D RADAR mapping. And its weapons are preventing any kind of visual on it too. It is the heaviest defended base in the entire region. If he isn't taking her there, then your guess will be about as good as mine. We need to get close, survey it's defenses, and make a plan from there. It's the most logical course of action Will." I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to punch him right there.

"I don't care what the fuck is logical! If your plan was to find a way to sneak in and get her out, sure, but the longer we wait, the higher chance that he will have killed her!" Fox crossed his arms, raising one of his eyebrows at me.

"Are you done?" I didn't react, but he seemed to take it as a yes. "Noriega is counting on you just rushing in. he won't kill Mira. Torture her, maybe, but it's in his best interest to keep her alive. She's bait Will. So long as he has her, alive, he knows we will come for her. And I plan on it, just want to catch him with his pants down. We have time Will." I was about to retort when the sound of engines drew both of our attentions. One of the United States' rare heavy dropships was floating above us, its unique tri-gimbaled engine design slowly lowering to the ground. The pilot's cabin was all that was actually part of the craft, the cargo area being a customizable clamp, able to hold cargo crates, troop bays, even the incredibly rare combat mech. This one was carrying some sort of large mech suit, a voice emanating from the craft as it lowered to the dusty ground.

"I believe you will need this. Mira's location is inside. Good luck." My jaw completely unhinged, instantly recognizing the voice.

"Dad?!"

* * *

Fox heard the one shocked word that slipped out of Will's mouth, watching with him as the craft set down. As soon as it had, a ramp lowered from the cockpit, letting them climb aboard. But what had drawn Fox's attention, was the mech suit hoisted under it. it was bipedal, at least five meters tall. The main body seemed almost spherical, with thick arms and legs coming off of it, armor plates melding almost seamlessly. On it's back was a multi engine thruster pack, two missile packs that looked like they folded out over the top of the vehicle to fire, and two telescoping large bore plasma guns. The two arms were different from each other, one with a rotary cannon that had at least a dozen barrels, the other being a long mass driver, both built into the arm itself.

"Holy shit, what the hell is that thing?" Will was walking around it too, inspecting it.

"It's a Mech Suit. Mark nine if I'm not wrong. Damn, the nine's are supposed to still be in prototype!" Fox was quick to respond, totally confused.

"But, how come we haven't faced one before?" Will barely glanced at him, moving into the cockpit, Fox closely behind him. They were both shocked to find it empty.

"Well, they are extremely expensive. Hell, most cruisers don't even carry a mech suit at all. Look." He was pointing at a screen, which was displaying tactical data, as well as a message along the top. _The IFF on this ship is valid, but not for long. Use it to drop the mech into the base, the mech has the mission parameters in it. Follow them, and you will save your friend._

"Think we can trust it?" Will instantly nodded, walking down the ramp.

"Yes, that was my dad's voice that spoke. He never lies, not even to an enemy. And this kind of hardware is not something you let fall into enemy hands. They're supposed to be destroyed long before that could happen. You're flying." He was climbing up into the suit, all of his gear still strapped on.

"Are you sure about this?" Fox was speaking over the radio, climbing back into the cockpit.

"No. but it's a chance I am willing to take. Get us airborne Fox." He sighed, struggling for a second to figure out the controls. The holo-graphic projections of the fight path appeared the second he had sealed the bay, guiding him almost out of the atmosphere. "I sure hope this works Will." He muttered to himself, his radio still off.

* * *

Tasha Reynolds had been a nurse on Katina before the humans had invaded, but now, she couldn't help but cry. She, her family, and several dozen others had been lined up against an inner wall of the base they were at, a pair of machine guns aimed at them. Dried blood stains riddled the surface they were standing on, showing the countless others that had been executed here before them. She closed her eyes, hearing the alien words to prepare that she had heard so many times before, knowing the end was only seconds away. A single, massive bang filled her ears, almost like a car slamming into a rock at high speed. Confused as to why she wasn't dead yet, she opened her eyes, fear leaping into her throat. A massive mech stood before her, facing the human emplacements. Before anything else could happen, blue plasma bolts ripped away from it's right arm at an incredible rate, literally shredding the humans before them. Simultaneously, two missile packs popped up, spun around, and fired. The missiles blasted the gates to the internment area apart, leaving all of the civilians a clear run out into the desert. She didn't hesitate, grabbing her child and running for the blown down gates.

* * *

I smirked as the soldiers stumbled and ran before the shear firepower spitting away from the mech. The Katinians were all running, the guard towers too focused on my mech to worry about them. Blaster fire was pinging off the shielding at a massive rate, but the shield integrity was falling at an incredibly slow rate. Two tanks rolled into view, their cannons tracking me already. I grinned, raising my left arm, the arm on the mech raising with it.

"Suck on this you Russian bastards!" the mass driver fired, the depleted uranium slug ripping into the first tank and blowing it to ribbons. The second tank fired, but did nothing more than stagger me. I smirked, activating the shoulder mounted weapons and firing at the second tank. The twin plasma cannons were clear overkill, leaving nothing but a crater and flying debris. With a single thought, the engines fired, boosting the craft forward. It slid across the ground, special shielding on it's feet protecting the metal as the craft rocketed across the base. As I did so, I fired every weapon at my disposal, absolutely shredding the enemy forces as the detention area came closer and closer.

"Shield integrity at fifty percent." I cursed as more and more plasma and kinetic weapons were brought to bear on my mech, shaking it violently. I kept returning fire, thousands of blue bolts ripping through infantry, dozens of the larger rounds destroying tanks, bunkers, even small clusters of troops. It was a slaughter of unimaginable proportions, a single vehicle wiping out whole platoons at a time.

"Come on girl, hold together just a little while longer!" a tank shot ripped through the near crippled shielding, ripping one of the shoulder cannons off. I fired a mass driver round back, pulverizing the tank. More rounds started ripping through the shielding, tearing chunks out of the armor. Alarms were ringing like crazy, but I kept firing, a barrage of missiles ripping away from the suit. More troops were flooding toward the mech, but I was cutting them down faster than they were coming. One of the missile packs exploded, sending sparks through the cabin as the mech stumbled.

"Damn it! hang in there!" I grimaced as I swept the boiling hot chaingun back and forth across the enemy, watching as the last of them fell. Most of the mechs armor was compromised, but I was surrounded by the husks of tanks and dead humans. I marched the mech toward the facility, about to leap out when a dull blue bolt ripped through the mech, the remaining systems sputtering and dying.

"Shit." I went to pull the emergency release, but it was too late. Something ripped the hatch off the top, then fired a burst of white stun rounds into the cabin, instantly plunging me into a dark void.

* * *

Mira closed her eyes, tears still freely flowing from under her eyelids. She hadn't seen Noriega since she was captured, assuming he was simply waiting for whatever reason fit his fancy, or to simply let her stew. Regardless of what it was, she was still shackled to a wall, unlike the table she had been cuffed to the last time she had been captured.

"I'm so sorry Will." Her voice was no more than a whisper. She didn't even look up as the door opened the sound of shuffling feet making one of her ears twitch.

"Sling that chain over the cross bar and hang him up. I want him to see this." She instantly recognized Noriega's voice, a fury with in it that she had never heard before. Her eyes snapped open, instantly seeing Will being hoisted up by a length of chain, Noriega watching her greedily. All of Will's gear had been stripped off, left in cargo pants and a t-shirt as he dangled from the rafter by his wrists. "Good, you're awake. You two, secure that chain and leave us." The two masked soldiers left, the solid door sealing behind them. With a single, careless motion, Noriega pulled out a small electric stunner, ramming it on Will's side. Will let out a howl of pain, forcing a shaft clean through Mira's heart.

"Will!" his eyes flickered open, Mira easily seeing the fear in his eyes.

"Oh good, I'm glad to see we didn't stun you too badly, dog! I am going to make you suffer for what you did to our base, traitor! But first, I think I will have a little fun with our friend here!" his voice was even more cold and vicious than she had ever heard it, already advancing on her.

"No! d-don't hurt her!" she saw the fear seem to explode in his eyes, knowing his heart was racing as fast as hers, if not faster.

"Oh don't worry, she wont be in pain for too long, because I am going to end her pathetic existence! She served her purpose." As soon as he finished speaking, his fist flashed out, no more than a blur in her vision. It connected with her cheek, sending her head spinning. She nearly blacked out from the shear force of the punch, almost missing Will's shout.

"Mira!" Noriega proceeded to punch her and kick her as he pleased, a cold maniacal laugh echoing out of his mouth the whole time. It felt like hours before he finally stopped, panting as her entire body burned and ached, barely even able to open her eyes. "Don't hurt her…. Please, just don't!" she heard Noriega laugh, and managed to open her eyes enough to see him pulling the stunner back out.

"I have a more enticing idea! Why don't we see just how loud our little mutt can scream!" he came within inches of her face, ramming the stunner into her stomach. Searing pain ripped through her body, Mira unable to contain the scream that ripped out of her. He pulled the stunner away, the scream instantly dropping to a mere whimper.

"that was pitiful. I know you can do better than that. You did the last time I was with you." Memories of him forcing himself upon her flashed through her mind, Mira being unable to stop them.

"Fuck you…" she barely squeaked the words out, Noriega laughing mirthlessly.

"I do believe that is a poor choice of words, for I _have _fucked you!" Will's voice finally drifted over to her ears, very quiet and calm.

"If you lay a single finger on her again, it will be the last thing you ever do." His words struck fear into her heart even, filled with a kind of hatred she had never heard before. Noriega simply grinned, adjusting the settings on the stunner before ramming it into her gut again. It seemed a thousand times more powerful than the last time, and even in the second or so that it was in contact with her skin, she almost blacked out. When it was pulled away, she was expecting another strike to shortly follow, but instead, she heard a strained shout, snapping her eyes open.

"I am going to kill you Noriega!" Will had flipped himself over, bracing his legs on the rafter and pushing with all of his might. The chain holding him up snapped, causing him to come crashing down on the floor. Noriega instantly attacked, kicking at Will's side, and sending Will rolling across the floor. But, seemingly unfazed by the savage kick, he rolled to his feet, cuffed hands at neck level. His first swing was a right hook of sorts, the left hand following behind the right. It connected with Noriega's face, but Noriega reacted faster than either of them expected. Noriega swayed away from Will, using his almost stumble to add speed to a kick into Will's side, right where his lung had been punctured. In a single strike, Will slumped to the ground, howling with pain. Noriega continued to savagely kick at the injury, causing cry of pain after cry of pain that rattled Mira deeper than she was even aware that she could feel, as if Will's pain was not only hers, but intensified seven fold.

"Always remember your opponent's weaknesses, boy! For that, I am going to end your furry girl's life, then lock you away until the end of time!" he yanked his combat knife off his belt, taking a step toward her. He froze as Will's voice returned, Will shifting onto his knees behind Noriega.

"You will not touch her!" the voice was almost like a cannon, his bare arms tensing up just before the chain holding the cuffs together snapped, freeing both his hands as he stood. His eyes were no longer the normal steely color, but almost pure black, as if his pupils had taken them over. Fear leapt into her throat again, knowing what Noriega had just triggered. Evidently, Noriega knew as well, showing an emotion Mira had never seem from the cold man before. Fear. The knife clattered out of his hand, his voice no more than a silent stutter. Will darted forward and to the side of Noriega, slamming his foot down on Noriega's knee. A snap accompanied his howl of pain, the leg bending to the side. Will scooped the knife up, Noriega going for his side arm, but too late. Will easily and deftly sliced his hand clean off, the weapon clattering away. Another scream ripped from Noriega as he clutched the stump, Will ramming the knife into his upper arm on the uninjured side, then stabbing his thigh, and finally slashing the knife across his throat. Noriega's blood curdling scream instantly stopped, Will leaning very close to the dying man, his voice no more than a whisper.

"Now, you can never hurt her again." And in one deft move, Will plunged the knife into Noriega's skull. Mira's jaw hung open in shock, barely able to compute the savagery Will had just shown.

"W-Will" his head snapped toward her, the look of pure rage still on his face. It started to soften the second he saw her, but her eyes widened as she finally noticed something. Noriega's savage kicks had ripped his lung back open, and before Will had taken even a step toward her, he slumped over, blood soaking his side.

* * *

Ramirez rushed through the cell door, almost instantly shocked at the scene before him. Noriega, his hand severed and a knife plunged deep into his skull, Will slumped over and bleeding beside the corpse, and the small half fox half cat still shackled to the wall. Her eyes widened, shouting out in her alien language.

_"Kun'as lui."_ he shrugged, already pulling out a bio-gel can.

"Look lady, I don't have a translator, but I'm here to help. His dad sent me. You gotta trust me." He quickly slathered the gel on. She seemed to slowly relax as he grabbed the key off Noriega's belt and unlocked the shackles. "Grab him and that blaster, run for the medical area just down the hall. Kill the guard, then head for landing pad one. Do it fast, or I will catch you." She nodded, slinging Will's arm over hers and stopping at the door.

"_Th-thank you. Who you?_" it was clear that her command of English was not good, but it was good enough.

"Captain Ramirez. Now go!" she nodded and left, Ramirez turning to the corpse inside, waiting for the shots to echo back to him. He smirked, getting on his radio and calling in an alert.

* * *

Fox paced back and forth in the shade of the transport, waiting for Will to arrive. He couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong as the day drifted on. He kept trying to reassure himself, thinking over and over that Will and Mira were fine. Suddenly, the sound of engines echoed to his ears, causing him to panic when he saw the quad engine dropship. His rifle instantly slipped off his back as he shied toward one of the landing struts, putting it between himself and the landing dropship. A small team of human soldiers slipped out, one of them shouting as soon as he was close enough.

"Fox McCloud!?" Fox stepped out, his rifle leveled. Surprisingly the soldier didn't even flinch, not one of them raising a weapon. "Stand down and listen. Our Friend, Lieutenant Hawkins, is captured. We are going to help you break him out. Just hide in the cockpit of our ship, and fly it out when your people get on board. Now lets move, time is of the essence!" fox trotted out of his position, keeping a wary eye on them.

"Who are you?" the lead soldier shook his head, a female a few feet away speaking up.

"He's Captain Ramirez. His translator got fried, but he and Hawkins are old friends." Fox nodded and slipped onto the transport, doing exactly as they said, even though his gut was screaming against it. he kept his weapon tight to him through the whole flight, the pilots unstrapping after they landed. One of them looked at him, their face lost behind the blacked out visor.

"Good luck McCloud." With that, he strode off the vessel, Fox simply waiting there, weapon still raised. After twenty minutes, an alarm reached Fox's ears, causing him to perk up.

"That's gotta be them." He muttered to himself as he slipped into the pilot's seat and fired the craft up, feet pounding up the metal a few minutes later drawing his attention, and his pistol. A grin almost crossed his face as he saw Mira and Will, Mira supporting Will and carrying what looked like Will's belt, the pistol and knife still attached.

"f-Fox? What the…" he sealed the bay door, simply dropping his weapon.

"Just hang on!" as soon as the bay was closed, he gunned the engines, shooting them away from the mangled and cratered base.


	26. Chapter 26: Cerberus

My eyes flicked open, my mind panicking. I was on a cot in what looked like a tent, but I wasn't tied down. That alone almost calmed me down, but the sight of Mira, bruised, but very much alive, sleeping in the cot next to me brought a smile to my face. I quickly slipped off the cot, moved over beside her and hugged her, barely noticing the dull ache in my side. She was startled awake, a shocked expression on her face before she grinned and hugged me back.

"Will! Your awake!" she gingerly kissed my cheek before we let go of each other, so she could sit up and I could sit on the cot.

"You sound surprised. What happened? I remember Noriega hitting you and using that stun gun on you, but nothing else." She smiled, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Well, you broke the chain holding you up, hit Noriega, then got kicked across the floor. Opened up your lung, cracked a couple of ribs, rebroke the one. Townsend already dealt with that. Then you broke the hand cuffs and, well killed him. After you killed him, you passed out." I nodded and wrapped an arm over her shoulder, glad she was safe. "Then, an old buddy of yours came in, told me to run for the landing pads, and Fox was in a stolen dropship, waiting for us."

"Who was this old buddy?" she shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement.

"Said his name was Ramirez. Oh well, he got us out, and that's what counts." I couldn't help but be shocked at that, but I stayed silent, just holding her, comforted that she seemed fine.

"Oh, um, are you alright Mira?" she nodded and smiled, but the small wince that accompanied it didn't escape my vision.

"Yeah. Bruised, hurting, and got burned where the stunner touched me, but I'll be fine. Thanks to you, Noriega didn't get the chance to do much." Silence fell between us lasting for what felt like hours, just sitting there, holding each other. Suddenly, Fox burst into the tent.

"Oh, hey, you're both awake. On your feet, we're heading back to Corneria for some R and R." I grinned and stood, stretching before I offered Mira a hand up. Fox had already left the tent, and I finally noticed that Mira's gear was stacked next to her cot. My own cot only had the belt and drop down rigs, with the weapons still attached, lying next to it.

"So, I guess I lost all of my gear." Mira grimaced, toward me, before whimpering as she tried to sling her gear on. "Hey, I got your stuff, don't worry about it." I quickly strapped my belt on, the two drop downs swinging around loosely as I took her gear as well. She had lost the combat vest, but her medical gear, carbine, and pistol had all been recovered.

"Thanks Will." I smiled and kissed her lips, my body shuddering from elation at the small show of affection.

"Of course my love. I wouldn't have it any other way." She blushed and led the way out of the tent.

* * *

"Rear Admiral Hawkins, we have an incoming transmission, flagged as urgent, sir!" Hawkins stood from his command chair, stepping up to the holotable behind it.

"Patch it through Lieutenant." The soldier acknowledged and after a second or so, the Russian Prime Minister himself appeared in a half sized hologram. "Prime Minister Barkov. To what do I owe this pleasure?" the heavily scarred and battered war veteran scowled at Hawkins curious grin, clearly furious.

"Do you want to explain to me why one of my bases was wiped off the face of the planet by an American Mech Suit?" Hawkins feigned a frown, instantly speaking.

"Well, that explains what happened to it. One of my Special Forces teams requested one in the field, we used an automated dropship to deliver it, but it landed several miles off target. By the time my soldiers arrived on site, it was gone. It was logged into our system the second we discovered it missing, Prime Minister." The prime minister's upper lip twitched at Hawkins, showing his barely contained rage.

"Then explain to me why your son was the one who had it!?" Hawkins shrugged, tapping a few keys on the screen.

"Well, Star Fox was spotted in the area. He is a member, so it's reasonable to assume that even if he did not per say discover the suit, it would be rushed to him due to his training in United Earth Coalition equipment. Thank you for informing me of it's location, I shall send a retrieval team momentarily." The Prime Minister scowled, brandishing his finger like a weapon.

"Hawkins, you are already in trouble for accepting a call from that traitorous son of yours, if I discover that you had anything to do with this Mech Suit falling into enemy hands, then I will personally try you with treason!" Hawkins merely raised an eyebrow at him, fighting to keep a smile off his face.

"With all due respect, the only people able to try me for treason is a United States of America's Military court system. No other country has the authority. Now, I must bid you good day, Prime Minister. My ship is due back in the Sol system in a few weeks and we must get under way." He cut the transmission off before turning toward his helmsmen, already speaking.

"I want the las two remaining units transferred to Admiral Douglas with in the hour, then set course back to earth. President Monroe will not be too keen on my report to her." The sailor replied with an Aye-aye, just before a new voice spoke to him, no louder than a whisper.

"Now I see where Will got his knack for playing loose with rules." Captain Ramirez's voice increased in volume as he spoke, much more formally this time. "Captain Ramirez reporting as requested Rear Admiral." He saluted Hawkins, Hawkins instantly saluting him back.

"At ease captain. How long until your report on your ground operations are ready?" he held out a small drive to Hawkins, forcing a smirk to dart across his face. "Prudent as always. Report to the hanger bay Captain." Before he continued, Hawkins lowered his voice and leaned closer to Ramirez. "Give Ron and O'Donnell my regards, and tell O'Donnell to speed it the hell up on contacting McCloud." Ramirez smirked as he saluted to Hawkins.

"Aye-Aye Rear Admiral. Good luck sir." Hawkins returned it, just before Ramirez turned on the spot and left the bridge.

* * *

Fox stepped into the briefing room, nodding to Peppy before he spoke to the hologram of General Pepper.

"Sorry I'm late sir. Will's fighter wasn't agreeing to well with flight." Pepper nodded, bringing up a radial map of the Lylat system.

"We are running desperately low on naval ships at the moment, and we recently received intel that the enemy may be moving into this supply corridor through the Sargesso Asteroid Field. I need you to go investigate it before you return to Corneria. Just send us an FTL packet with what you find." Fox nodded to him, smiling as he responded.

"I'm sure the crew wont mind a calm patrol and recon mission before getting some rest in sir. I'll have that packet ready as soon as we are done Pepper." General Pepper nodded and smiled, just before the comm line cut off.

"I've already sent Rob the proposed route. Should only be about a week or so before we're safe at Corneria." Fox nodded and smiled at Peppy, just before a yawn escaped his muzzle.

"Alright. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted, so I think I'll get some rest. Wake me if something happens." Peppy nodded and Fox trodded out of the room, headed for his bunk.

* * *

My eyes flitted open to find Mira still curled up next to me, sound asleep in my bunk. She had a faint smile on her face that broadened when I kissed her cheek, my arms still locked around her soft, furred frame. She shifted slightly in her sleep, a faint purr echoing from her. I couldn't hold back a giggle at her, accidently stirring her awake. She looked up at me, still half asleep.

"What are you laughing about Will?" I tickled behind one of her ears, using my other arm to hold her squirming body clamped in place.

"You, beautiful. You were purring in your sleep." I finally stopped tickling her, earning a quick kiss from her.

"Well, I was having a very good dream, okay? Why are you awake anyway?" I shrugged, a smile still plastered to my face.

"Just restless, and nervous. We're supposed to be in Sargesso right now. The way I hear it, it's infested with well-equipped pirates." She giggled slightly, earning a raised eyebrow from me.

"Oh? And it doesn't have anything to do with you having to take me on a date a couple days from now?" I instantly turned bright red, having almost completely forgotten about the promise I had made Krystal almost three weeks ago.

"I…. uh… no!" she giggled again, making me want to just shrivel up and disappear from her. The nervousness almost instantly disappeared as a red light turned on, Peppy's voice echoing through the ship.

"All hands, man your battle stations, we're unde-" his voice was cut off as the ship lurched, sending both of us sprawling. "We're under attack! All hands, to your battle stations!" I quickly grabbed my uniform top, helmet, and belt, strapping them on as I ran out. Mira had just thrown on pants and followed with her HUD rig dangling in her hand. I nearly ran into Fox as we all piled into the elevator, instantly speaking.

"Fox, what's Going on!?" he shrugged, slipping his HUD rig on as myself and Mira did the same with our helmets. Fox was about to speak when we were all thrown against the wall.

"Hell if I know, but it takes a powerful shot to rock the 'Fox like that." As soon as the door opened, the three of us darted out, sprinting to our fighters. The second I powered the fighter on and hooked up my helmet, the battlenet lit up with dozens of enemy ships and innumerable numbers of fighters. Three of the ships were Russian Dreadnaughts, all too familiar to me.

"Mother Fucker…."

* * *

Fox rammed his throttle forward, ripping out of the Great Fox's hanger. A yellow lance drew his attention as he banked toward the closest fighter group. The lance slammed into one of the great Fox's lower wings, ripping through it and into the cargo bay. An explosion ripped into space, all of the crates and vehicles stored in the vehicle bay spilling out into space. As the ship turned, the heavily damaged wing sheared off, leaving a jagged reminder of what had been there.

"Son of a… all pilots, focus on enemy bombers and strike craft! Do not let them damage the 'Fox!" a pair of the dart like fighters ripped past him, their weapons glancing off his shield as he angled after a Bearcat. It survived his first burst of fire, so he looped after the craft. A few more linked blasts and the craft shattered. Fox quickly rolled and juked, his alarms going off like mad. Several missiles streaked past, narrowly missing his fighter. He ignored the fighters that had fired them, slipping in behind a pair of Bearcats. He pounded burst after burst of fire into the fighter, the craft bursting into flames. Fox was about to angle after it's companion when a charged blast hit it from Bill's fighter, incinerating it. Krystal's fighter whipped by in front of him, at least a full squadron on her tail.

"I got enemies all over me! Someone help! Please!" Fox instantly dived after her, destroying three of the craft in rapid succession. But it wasn't fast enough. Krystal's shielding failed and bolts ripped through her fighter. Before Fox could react, a streak shot away from her cockpit, just before the fighter detonated.

"Krystal!" Fox was panicking as he shot past the debris that had been her fighter, just before an emergency beacon popped up on his scanners.

"This is Slippy, I'm running for the shuttle now! Cover who ever that beacon is!" Fox looped around, seeing a pair of Darts already angling in on her evac seat. Fox unlinked his cannons and unleashed a volley of fire. The two fighters splintered apart, showering the area the evac seat was in. he cursed, hoping Krystal was aright. The minutes that past as he fought off fighter after fighter felt like hours. Finally, the boxy form of the shuttle slipped up to the seat, the back bay opening and backing up so the seat slipped into the bay. As soon as the bay was closed, Slippy gunned away, three more Darts tight on his tail. Saber's interceptor shot past Slippy's shuttle, blasting the fighters apart with it's chaingun.

"You good slip?" Fox's voice cracked a little as he dived after a trident, blowing it apart.

"Yeah, Krystal's hurt pretty bad though." Fox cut his radio and cursed. Another yellow lance impacted with the Great Fox, glancing off the hull armor, but not without taking a large furrow with it. There were already burns all across the hull of the ship, one of the bow guns blasted into pieces. As he watched, a lance of plasma glanced off the hull and splattered on the fin, burning through and severing the fin from the hull.

"Damn it, we need to break out of here!" he narrowly dodged a missile fired at him, a few plasma blasts knocking his shields dangerously low. Will's cobbled together fighter flashed by, the damaged G-diffuser flickering. He had an entire fighter squadron on the run, quickly shredding the unshielded interceptors.

"Those three dreadnaughts have all of the paths blocked, and our guns are tied up, we cant clear a new one!" Peppy's voice sounded panicked, and with good reason.

"Peppy? Does the Fox have enough firepower to punch a hole in one of the dreadnaughts shielding?" Fox raised an eyebrow as he ducked and weaved.

"What are you thinking Will?" Will was silent for a second, but Fox could see the him dogfighting with at least three bearcats. Bill's fighter streaked by, trailing flame as it practically crashed into the hanger of the Great Fox.

"We kill it like my dad, from the inside. If we blast a hole in the shield above one of the hangers, then we can slip in and blast our way to the tram system. Once there, it's a short flight to the power core and a few missiles to clear the way." Fox was instantly shouting into his mic.

"Do it Peppy!"

* * *

"Divert all power to the remaining main cannon. I don't care if it blows the weapon apart, we need that hole!" Peppy nearly shouted himself horse with that one shout. Another shot hit the ship, an electrical surge blasting a few of the panels apart on the bridge.

"Ready to fire Peppy, just say the word!" he pulled up the comm just before he shouted.

"Firing in five… four… three… two… one… Fire!" as Peppy counted down, Fox and Will moved closer to the enemy dreadnaught, ducking and weaving through its fire. When he yelled to fire, a massive beam of white light blasted away from the ship, hitting the enemy ship hard enough to knock it off course. But it was the last thing Peppy remembered, as one of the control boards beside him overloaded, a chunk of plastic slamming into his temple and knocking him out cold.

* * *

I narrowly dodged the massive beam of light. Before the streak faded from my iris, I had pitched and shot into the hanger, using the G-diffusers to prevent ramming into the back of the bay. Fox and I both swept fire across the hanger deck before blasting through deck after deck of the ship, until there was a sizeable tunnel leading all the way to the tram system. Human dreadnaughts, due to the sheer size of the vessels, needed tramway's to ferry supplies and vehicles between the cargo bays and the hanger bays. As such, they were fairly large round chambers with almost no gravity, using magnetic clamps to secure cargo to the flatbed trams. The lack of gravity made movement of cargo much easier. Our fighters streaked along the tramway, the occasional rifle round pinging off our shielding.

"Just a little farther Fox!" he didn't acknowledge the call as I monitored the distance between us and the core on my sensors. When we reached it, I used my G-diffusers to stop, then opened fire, blasting a hole into the bulkheads. Although there were secondary generators throughout the ship, as well as secondary tramways, all along the ship, the main tram being cut in half by the main reactor core, roughly halfway through the ship. Once the bulkhead was gone, we both fired our entire Nova bomb payload through and into the core. As soon as we had, we spun about and ripped away, retreating back toward the hanger we had entered. Blue light flashed behind us as the weapons detonated, followed by secondary explosions all around us as power lines overloaded. An alarm went off in my cockpit just before the damaged G-diffuser blew apart, sending my fighter careening into the wall. My vision went black on impact, and my eyes slowly opened to fox's voice.

"Will, are you alright!?" I quickly assessed the systems, my cockpit glowing red. The main power plant had been knocked off line, the fighter half crushed in the collision, but the shielding had saved the fighter from total destruction.

"Yeah, I'm alive, but my fighter's cooked. Get your ass out of here." Fox cursed over the radio, and I could see his G-diffusers ahead of me.

"No, I'm coming back for you." His G-diffusers disappeared, his fighter only appearing when an explosion filled the bay. "Damn it! Debris are blocking the way, too tight for my fighter to get through!" I played with the controls, quickly discovering that I could still maneuver, simply not well.

"Just go Fox! Get your ass off this ship before it blows apart!" my radio started to shut down as I pivoted my fighter and limped it toward the exit. Suddenly, a new light appeared in the tram, an eerie blue glow along the walls marking a fighter headed for me. My helmet radio suddenly lit up with Mira's voice.

"Will, can you hear me!?"

"Mira, what the hell are you doing here!?" she laughed over the radio, barely slowing as she slipped through the gap that Fox's Arwing wouldn't fit through. As soon as she reached my fighter, she clamped the cargo ramp on my fighter's hull and started guiding us out.

"Well, someone needs to save your ass! Just hang on!" her fighter ducked and weaved through, shearing one of the remaining G-diffusers on mine off on an under hang.

"Watch it!" she didn't respond, her face barely illuminated in her cockpit. She finally reached the tunnel we had blasted, gunning it for open space when an explosion rocked both of our fighters, shrapnel ripping into hers. Her fighter jerked and shook as she attempted to maintain control, the Great Fox visible just a few hundred meters away.

"Come on girl, you can make it!" the ship rumbled and groaned, still pushing my fighter with it. suddenly, her engines cut out, just as we were angling into the great Fox's hanger.

"Fuck, Will, hang on!" I braced as we shot into the hanger, ricocheting off the wall and into one of the fighters before I blacked out.

* * *

Mira groaned as she awoke, a dull ach echoing from her chest cavity. Her eyes opened to see Will standing above her, smiling.

"Hey Gorgeous. Glad to see your awake." She returned his smile and sat up, seeing that the medical bay around her was filled to the brim with crew members. As well as several body bags.

"Who died?" her eyes were fixed to the bags, hoping it wasn't anyone on the flight team.

"Some of the engineers and two of the flight deck members. Savannah is gone too. Her cabin was punctured during the battle. Sucked her out into space." Mira felt tears in her eyes, unable to hold them back.

"What about the others, are they okay?" Will nodded, speaking quickly.

"Bill got singed when he crashed in the hanger, but he's fine. Krystal got peppered with shrapnel, and broke her wrist ejecting. Other than still being out cold, she's fine. Peppy got knocked out by an exploding console on the bridge. Aside from that, mostly just minor burns and shrapnel hits. You have some cracked ribs." She nodded, her mind drifting back to their landing in the hanger.

"And our ships?" he grimaced, sitting on the bed with her.

"The 'Fox took some pretty severe damage. Rob is unsure if she can even safely de-cel from Warp. Shuttles are fine, as well as Fox, Falco's, and Sabers fighters. Just some minor damage. Bill's is totaled. When we landed, my fighter broke off from yours, crushed Katt's fighter, then detonated on the Cat's Paw. Luckily for me, I was knocked out after the collision with Katt's ship, and flung out the shattered canopy. Just tumbled across the floor. Yours is salvageable. Hit the wall pretty hard, but just skidded across the deck after that." She nodded again, just before wrapping her arms around him, tears slowly leaking out of her eyes. She felt his arms slowly wrap around her, giving her body a gentle squeeze.

"Come on guys, go get your stuff packed." Katt spoke almost as a side note a she passed, an armful of bandages in her hands.

"Yeah, I'm on it." Will stood from the bed as he spoke, gently pulling her up and leading her out of the med bay.

"What does Katt mean, get our stuff packed?" Will sighed as they walked through the door to their cabin.

"The crew are going to get on the freighter and separate from the Great Fox. In case Rob is right about the damage the ship sustained. If so, there's a chance the Great Fox will fry, lost to space forever, or downright implode when Rob tries to decelerate." She nodded, quickly packing her bag with clothing for at least a few days. Her eyes flitted up to her carvings, several of which had been knocked over during the fighting. On impulse, she grabbed the wolf carving and turned toward Will, who was busy disassembling and checking his side arm, a duffel bag worth of clothing already packed up.

"Um, Will, I want you to have this." He looked up from his weapon, not even looking at it as he reassembled it.

"What?" she stepped over, taking the blaster from his hand and forcing the carving into it's place, he stared at it for a second, clearly confused. "Why?" Mira never imagined that someone could place so much confusion into just one word, but somehow, Will had.

"I just want you to have it. Cant a gal give her boyfriend something from time to time?" he shook his head trying to give the carving back. She would have been annoyed with him, if it wasn't for the pained expression on his face.

"I can't accept this." She grabbed his wrist, stopping him from turning away.

"Why not Will? I know you like it." he looked away from her and tried to tug his hand out of hers, startling her even more.

"I…. I just can't." Shocked, she let go of his hand, setting the carving and the hand gun on the desk. The second she had let go, he had turned around and started stuffing even more stuff into the duffel bag. She saw a single tear slip out of his eye, worrying her.

"Will, what's wrong?" she wrapped her arms around him, causing him to come to a shuddering stop, sobbing into his hands. "Will?" fear started to creep into her voice as she whispered into his ear.

"I don't want to lose you too…" Will's voice was barely more than a whisper, his words instantly stunning her.

"Will?" he finally spun in her arms, wrapping his own around her.

"This war grows more dangerous by the day Mira. What's stopping you from being the next Star Fox member to die?" she sighed, giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"If I have to die, so be it. You can't control everything Will. All I ask, is that if I do die, don't give up on life. Live it to the absolute fullest, for me. Okay?" he nodded, just holding her.

"I still don't want to lose you." She backed off and smiled at him as warmly as she could.

"I don't want to lose you either. I'm not going to give up on us. I will fight to my last breath to stay with you." His eyes dropped to the floor, no longer able to look her in the eye.

"Then why did you give up on Katina?" she smiled again, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"I didn't. If I had continued to fight, there was no doubt I was going to die. I knew you would find a way to save me if I surrendered, and I was right, wasn't I? It's okay to be afraid Will. It's not okay to let that fear control you." He nodded and pulled her into a tight embrace. After several minutes, he let go of her, clearly reluctant to do so.

"I'm sorry Mira. Yes, I'd love to have that sculpture." She smiled and kissed his lips before turning back to her stuff, finishing with packing up the important stuff. When she was done, she turned around to find him holding the carving in his hand, just staring at it. after a few seconds, he stuffed the carving into the pocket of his leather jacket, slinging the jacket on and shouldering his bag. "Well beautiful, we should probably head up to the freighter." She nodded and snuck one last kiss in before the two of them stepped out of the room, hands tightly clasped together.

* * *

Fox gently backed the freighter out of the bay, fighting the random jerks and pulls as the ship switched from the Great Fox's warp field to it's own. Almost immediately, the Great Fox popped out of sight, Fox adjusting his course slightly before aligning with Corneria. He sighed as he waited for the ship to reach Corneria, the nav computer pulling them out of warp automatically. The blue and green world appeared before them and he let out a breath of relief, glad to finally be home.

"Warp out signal off our port. Looks like the Great Fox." Slippy's words caused Fox to type commands into his screen, bringing up a camera view of the Great Fox and zooming in. one of the main cannons was completely obliterated, the other was twisted and burnt, bending away from the hull like it had been squashed. There were burns and rips all across the hull, and the fin was missing, as well as the top port and bottom starboard wings. The remaining wings were scarred and damaged, one of them with a hole clean through it. finally, the engines were ravaged, only the central engine even still working, sputtering and flickering as the ship limped toward the orbital construction yard.

"I cant believe what happened to her…." Slippy nodded and Fox nearly jumped as a new voice joined them.

"Fox, have you sent your report to pepper yet?" Fox glanced back at Will, mildly surprised that Mira was not hanging off of him like she usually was.

"No, why?" he was silent for a second, staring at the Great Fox, a frown on his face.

"The dreadnaughts that ambushed us, the Cerberus fleet, they only deploy on combat missions. I think the intel that had us investigating that area of Sergesso was a lure. They wanted to trap us and kill us." Fox nodded in agreement, barely noticing that Slippy was talking with Cornerian ground control.

"That's what I've been thinking. They seemed prepared for us. Not like we had just accidently stumbled upon them. Anyway, I guess we get a couple months rest. That damage will not be easy to fix." Will nodded before taking one last look at the crippled dreadnaught, then heading back into the hold. Fox's thoughts drifted off to Krystal down in the hold, wondering if she had awoken yet or not.


	27. Chapter 27: The Funerals

Falco sat stiffly on couch in the, unable to keep a tear from slipping out of his. The entire team was scattered solemnly around the HQ, not one speaking. Krystal's voice was the one to shatter the silence.

"When are the funerals?" Falco heard someone sigh behind him. He craned his neck around to see Fox.

"Tomorrow. And we are holding a memorial service for Savannah and the others in a few weeks." After he spoke, silence fell across the room. Falco heard someone sniff and his eyes slipped across the room, seeing Katt in one of the corners. She had her knees tucked up to her chest, hugging them in place as she stared out one of the many windows. Falco could just barely see the sheen of fresh tears on her fur. Whether he would ever admit it or not, Falco's heart melted right then and there. He quickly stood and walked over to her, sitting on the arm of her chair and rubbing her shoulder gently.

"Are you alright, Smalls?" she looked at him and smirked before shaking her head and staring out the window.

"Smalls eh? You haven't called me that since we were still in that gang." He shrugged, leaving his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, so? Doesn't mean it doesn't fit you anymore." That earned him another smirk, and she wiped away the moisture. "you want to go to that old café we used to camp at?" she smiled and nodded, letting Falco led the way. They walked in silence for most of the way, until Katt's voice broke the silence.

"How long has it been since we've been to the old hangout?" he shrugged racking his brain.

"Uh, before the Lylat war I think. Damn it's been forever!" they rounded the last corner as Falco spoke. Much to Falco's surprise, the small café, nestled between two apartment buildings, was still exactly how he remembered it. It was a single story building with a long window running the entire length of the building. Inside, was a large, half rectangle bar along the back wall, and various booths lining the walls around the place. It was almost empty, having past the usual mid-day rush. Falco choose the corner booth the gang used to always occupy, sliding all the way into the corner. Katt snuggled up closer to him than he would like, but given the she had just lost a very close friend, he tried his best to ignore it. One of the waitresses came over and got their drink orders, Katt simply stared out the window at the foot traffic and cars that passed, a single tear slipping out of her eye.

"Alright Katt, talk to me." She sighed before facing him, sitting cross legged on the booth.

"I can't believe she's gone. Hell, for a while, there, she was the only thing keeping me on the Great Fox. And now she's gone." Falco already knew who she was speaking of, but asked his question anyway.

"Who?" she looked away from him before she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Savannah. She was so sweet. It didn't matter who she was talking to or how they treated her, she was sweet to them. I…" her face suddenly fell into her hands, sobbing. Falco stared at her, stunned. He had never in his life seen her crying like this before. Before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped his wings around her. She didn't seem to respond, simply continuing to sob into her hands.

"Thank you Falco." Her whisper was near silent, just barely loud enough for Falco to hear.

"Uh… no prob…. Just… uh, doin my job, I guess?" even through all of the crying and sadness, Falco's statement got Katt to chuckle. Falco couldn't help but smile, Katt dashing away the tears just as the waiter came back to get their orders.

* * *

I sat on the couch, sliding my hand gun out of it's holster and quickly stripping it down by hand. One of the nicest things about human plasma weapons, was the fact that they were almost as easy to clean and maintain as old ballistic pistols and rifles, with compartmentalized electronics that were easy to maintain and replace as needed. I nearly jumped as Krystal sat beside me.

"Hey Will. Do you ever not have that thing?" I shrugged, quickly and easily sliding the pieces together and reattaching the slide.

"I like to be armed. Just a comfort I guess." She smirked as I slid the magazine back into the weapon, charged it, then flicked the safety on before sliding it back into it's holster.

"well, that actually makes sense. Mr. Paranoid." I glared at her, earning a smirk from her.

"Since when did you start using Falco's nicknames?" she chuckled, leaning back into the edge of the couch.

"only for the occasional laugh. Where's Mira?"

"She took a walk. Wanted some time alone to clear her head." Krystal nodded as I spoke, her voice suddenly changing from the airy tone she had been using to a much quieter tone.

"So, when are you taking Mira on a date? Or did you forget that promise you made me?" I sighed, pulling the small carving out of my pocket.

"I honestly don't know where to take her." She chuckled, tapping a few keys on her wrist computer. A map floated above her wrist, highlighting a location in the city.

"There's a really nice restaurant here. Fox took me there. It's expensive, and, well, formal wear is a must. But I think it wouldn't be a bad spot to go." I raised an eyebrow at her, a slight smirk crossing my lips.

"For a first date? That seems more like a 'im proposing to you' sorta place." Krystal laughed a little, smiling at me.

"Yeah, a little, but she would love it. she's never had the money or the reason to go somewhere really nice, I think it would make her day."

"Hmph, well, does she even have any formal wear?" Krystal laughed aloud as I spoke, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her.

"No, but I doubt you do either. after you ask her out, I'll take her shopping."

"Hey, I do have formal wear, believe it or not." Krystal leaned forward, one eyebrow raised.

"Really?" I nodded, already speaking.

"Yes, I still have my dress blues from the Army. Wait, those may not be the best idea, come to think of it." Krystal smiled and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sure it will be fine, I doubt anyone will even recognize them as human anyway." I shrugged back, nearly jumping when Mira whispered into my ear.

"So, what are you two talking about?" I instantly spoke up, earning a giggle from Krystal.

"Nothing!" Mira smiled and slithered over the back of the couch, sliding between me and Krystal. Mira's attention was focused on me, so she didn't see Krystal rolling her hands in front of her, trying to get me to ask her. "Um, Mira?" she raised an eyebrow at me before I finally worked up the guts. "Do you want me to take you to dinner? Someplace nice?" the second I said it, her face lit up, grinning from ear to ear. Krystal behind her was giving me a thumbs up.

"I'd have to get something nice to wear but of course, I'd love too!" I hugged her, continuing.

"Well, day after tomorrow I guess?" she nodded and kissed my cheek visibly bouncing on the seat.

"Alright! Hey Krystal, do you have a dress I could borrow?" Krystal's shoulders artfully slumped, sighing as she spoke.

"No. but I have enough Liat in my account that I can find you something. I'll take you tomorrow, okay?" she nodded and hugged me again, Krystal taking that as her time to leave, and giving me one more thumbs up. I rolled my eyes and kissed Mira's cheek, feeling her body flutter slightly at the affectionate touch.

* * *

Fox watched as Krystal stepped away from Will and Mira, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation. He stopped her as she walked by, jerking a thumb back at Will and Mira.

"Playing match maker now?" she smirked and glanced back at them, a smile stretching onto her face as she watched the two of them, Will finding Mira ticklish spots with ease. Even Fox couldn't help but smile as she squirmed and giggled, trying to get out of his grip.

"They deserve to be happy. Besides, it can be contagious, and with what just happened, we all could use a little more happiness in our lives." Fox grunted and nodded before he continued, gesturing to her hand.

"Hows the hand?" she absently looked at the simple brace that she was wearing, shrugging.

"Hurts, but Townsend thinks it will be fine. I'll take it over what happened on Fortuna. Im glad they killed that bastard though." Fox raised an eyebrow at her, with no idea who she was talking about.

"Noriega, the human who tortured me and Mira?" Fox suddenly remembered, smacking his forehead with an open palm.

"That's right, sorry Krys." She just shrugged, still watching the two of them.

"How are you and Saber?" she finally looked at him, crossing her arms and leaning away from him.

"None of your business Fox." He shrugged looking away from her. "I'm sorry, were doing fine, just still sore with you about the whole cafeteria incident."

"It's alright. I don't blame you. I was a complete asshole to both of you, and I'm sorry for that." She nodded, both of them shuffling their feet.

"Well, I'm going to go. Saber wanted to meet me somewhere." Fox couldn't help but feel hollow as she started to walk away.

"Alright, see ya around?" she nodded and finally turned away, slipping into the elevator, and leaving Fox alone with his thoughts.

* * *

"Are you sure Krystal?" Krystal sighed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at Mira. She was wearing a thin silky dress, silver in color. She was facing away from Krystal, showing the back of the sleeveless dress. It had a long v-cut leading all the way down to her tail, her tail snugly resting in the peak of the V. there was a binding of sorts criss crossing over her back, made of thin silk string. Those strings were tied in a bow over her tail. In the mirrors in front of her, Krystal could see the front of the dress. It was very simple, but very form fitting, running all the way past her feet. But of course, it was meant to be worn with heels. The shoulders formed a simple V across her chest. Mira crossed her bare arms over her chest, frowning.

"Yes, you look great Mira. Really!" Mira slipped her hands into the silver gloves, pulling them up past her elbows. Krystal couldn't help but smile.

"I cant seriously look good like this?" Krystal laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You look gorgeous already. Now imagine when you're all cleaned up." Krystal ruffed up a spot on shoulder that had a grease from the hanger still on it. She had been up on the Great Fox earlier that day, helping clear the hanger wreckage and repair the salvageable fighters. She shrugged, looking up and down herself in the mirror again, before letting her hair out of the bun she had put it in. Krystal couldn't help but want to let her jaw drop. Now that her hair was loose, she looked stunning. "Alright, definitely this one." Mira nodded and turned slightly to see the side of her body in the mirror. Krystal rolled her eyes and checked her wrist computer. It was well past noon. "Well, you might want to change back. We only got about an hour and a half until the funerals."

"Oh, um, I'll meet you out there." Krystal nodded and stepped out of the dressing room as Mira changed. They remained silent as Krystal purchased the dress, and the two of them left the store, walking out onto Corneria's busy streets. It barely took them ten minutes to walk back to the head quarters building. When they arrived, Mira took the bag with the dress off to her room, leaving Krystal to get ready for the funeral by herself. She quickly changed into a simple black dress and moved back to the lobby. Most of the team was there, and she was surprised when Mira came out only a minute or so after her, wearing a semi-nice white blouse and black slacks, the Star Fox emblem pinned onto the shirt.

"Krystal, have you seen Will? He wasn't in our room." She glanced around the lobby, quickly realizing that Will wasn't in the lobby.

"No, I haven't. Any idea where he is?" Mira shook her head, a confused expression on her face.

"Well, where ever he is, he better not miss the funerals."

* * *

I quickly unclipped my handgun holster from my belt, stuffing it into the center console of the rental car I had rented, just before making sure I had all of the paperwork I needed. I sighed and stepped out of the car, headed inside the store in front of me. The shelves of the store were covered in various Cornerian tactical gears, the entire back wall being devoted to nothing but firearms of various makes, from civilian hunting rifles all the way up to the top of the line military rifles. There was a single beagle looking Cornerian manning the weapons counter, lazily counting the pistols in the glass beneath.

"Hello, I'm wondering if you might know something?" the clerk jumped when I spoke, reaching behind his back for something. He seemed to relax a little, glaring at me.

"Damned human, you scared the shit out of me." I shrugged as I stepped up to the counter, looking up at the various rifles racked up against the wall.

"I didn't mean to. Anyway, I'm a mercenary, and I recently lost most of my weaponry, any chance that you might have any hardware comparable to an M-thirty two?" he folded his arms, glaring at me.

"The M-thirty two is a human military rifle. I aint selling shit to you." I sighed, pulling out all of my paperwork.

"Look, I'm a member of Star Fox, I need a new rifle, and I don't like any of the weapons in the armory. Help me out here." He glanced through all of the papers, clearly trying to find something wrong with them. After a few minutes he finally sighed, taking one last look at my face and the ID on top of the pile before stepping over to the wall.

"Well, there aint nothing but a SAW that's gonna have the power of a human rifle. As far as maintenance, Cornerian weapons are harder to maintain, period. But, they do hold together longer, and use far less resources and power to operate so none of those big bulky magazines, even on the higher powered ones. You probably want to look at the heavy blast rifles, they have more power and will be a little more like a human rifle." He selected several rifles off the rack, setting them in front of me. One was the same exact model as what Bill and Saber carried, making me instantly glaze over it. The next one was a long slender weapon, with a mid-range scope attached to it. The last one was shorter than a normal blast rifle, with a very noticeable power pack sticking out just in front of the grip. The weapon was vertically tall, and was very rectangular, much like normal blast rifles. On top was the Cornerian version of a Picitinny rail mount. Curious, I picked the weapon up, seeing a selector lever instead of the usual click safety. I picked it up, aiming at the ceiling to look down the sight rail. It had no built in sights, but sights were generally fairly cheap. The selector had four settings, a bolt with an X over it for safe, a single bolt for semi-auto, a group of four bolts for full auto, and one large bolt. I raised my eyebrow at that, unaware that Corneria had any fully automatic weapons.

"Hey, what do you know about this thing?" the shop keeper smirked, speaking clearly from memory.

"That right there is brand new from Phoenix industries. Its call the Mark Six Assault Blast Rifle, or ABR for short. It uses four separate rotating firing chambers, allowing it to fire reasonably powerful shots at a higher rate than even human weapons. It also has a power blast setting, where it fires overcharged blasts. Although that slows down its fire rate considerably, it can tear through heavy armor like a knife through butter. It's got about a hundred and twenty rounds to a pack, about forty power shots. Has an indicator here that displays the shots remaining in the pack. Also, check this." He pressed a button on the side of the weapon, directly across from the selector lever. Two plates slid up at the front and back of the sight rail. I looked through them to see a holographic set of sights, just like old fashioned iron sights.

"Alright, that is cool, built in backups. But isn't the disadvantage of Cornerian weapons on rapid fire that they over heat quickly?" the shop keeper nodded, tapping the bulky sheathing around the barrel.

"There are some very powerful cooling systems along the barrel that keep the weapon cool and undisturbed by firing. I've seen them fire a couple thousand round through this thing without it over heating." I nodded, setting the weapon down on the counter.

"Alright how much for it?" he stared at me for a second, clearly debating what to do.

"Prove to me that you are really are Star Fox." I pulled out my phone, flicking through the photos on it until I found one Mira had sent me, specifically of me and Falco playing a game on their gaming console with Krystal and Saber off in the back ground.

"There, proof enough for you?" he grunted staring at the picture.

"Fine, here's the deal. Normally, this thing by itself costs eight thousand Liat, but, because we give Star Fox special deals, I will throw in a sight of your choice, a sling of your choice and twenty packs with the charging dock." I nodded and stepped away from the counter, quickly browsing through the slings. I quickly found a two point tactical sling. The clerk was gathering up the Mags and charging dock he promised. I was browsing through the different sights until one in particular caught my eye. It looked very much like an ACOG sight, with fold down dust covers. The front folded up, with the back folding down and to the right. Inside the sight, the reticle was very much like my old EO-tech sight, with four three sided corners around a central dot, it also could be linked into the weapon to inform you of the number of rounds left. I pulled out my wallet, selecting the bank chip out of it as he finished ringing the stuff up. _Eight thousand liat. Almost twelve thousand dollars for this weapon. Hope it's worth it._ the clerk ran through all of the electronic checks until he finally spoke up.

"Well, the security check just failed." I stared at him for a second, suddenly very anger at the Cornerian government.

"You're shitting me right?" he shook his head and turned the screen toward me. The display showed in bold red letters _NO WEAPON SALES TO HUMANS._ I growled, and was about to call up fox on my wrist computer when the screen suddenly changed, a new set of text appearing. _Overridden by Cornerian Defense Force. Signing Captain, J. Winters._ "Check again." I turned the screen back toward him and he grunted, muttering something under his breath.

"Alright, total is eight thousand, one hundred and seventy three liat. I nodded and slid my chip into the terminal before putting it away. "Thank you for your purchase." I nodded and picked up the hard case containing the new rifle and the bag with all of the extras in it. As soon as I was outside, I placed the case in the passenger seat and strapped my pistol back on.

Cornerian Cars were entirely electronic, whereas humanity still made fuel based cars in the civilian world. Although the fuel was now made from plants, rather than petroleum. Another major difference was the fact that all civilian Cornerian vehicles were linked into a transit grid, preventing the cars from going faster than the speed limit at any given time. Also unlike human vehicles, they generally had no hood, simply a reinforced bumper to protect from crashes. I was about to power the car on when my wrist started vibrating. I answered the call, instantly speaking.

"Hello, Hawkins speaking." Mira's voice spilled out of the receiver.

"Where are you? The funeral ceremonies start in five minutes?" I cursed, turning the car on and backing out of the space.

"I'm sorry, I had to get something. I'll be there shortly." I ended the call and drove as fast as the car's systems would let me.

* * *

Krystal sighed as the families of the dead members slowly filled the six foot graves with dirt. She had been fighting the whole time to hold back tears. A commotion behind her drew her attention, seeing Will being stopped by a pair of security guards.

"No sir, this is a private Ceremony. Only family and members of the Star Fox team are allowed in, sir!" he clearly looked annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest as he responded.

"I am a member of the Star Fox team, I'm running late, okay? Just let me past." The guard was reaching for his stunner when Krystal spoke up.

"Let him in. he's with us." The guards stepped aside and Will stepped past, an annoyed look still on his face. He was in his combat uniform, with a patch that was a compressed version of the Star Fox emblem on his sleeve. The reason for the guard's nervousness was securely strapped to his thigh, a magazine in the pistol.

"Where the hell have you been Will!? You're almost an hour late!" she kept her voice quiet so not to draw attention, but her words were no less vehement.

"I had to buy a new rifle, okay?" she crossed her arms and glared at will.

"Seriously? Buying a new rifle was more important than your dead comrade's funerals?" she saw his fists clench and a flash of anger in his eyes.

"I did not intend on taking all day, alright? None of the stores wanted to let me in. I had to go rent a car and go to Andrews Arsenal." Krystal sighed, but backed off, walking with him back to the others. The last of the dirt was laid on the graves and Fox cleared his throat, getting the small crowd's attention.

"Everyone here today, knew these men, and woman, some of them trusting their lives to them every day. And that is why I feel it is right to be honest with you on how they died. Garretson and Chambers were killed on the flight deck. Garretson was killed while trying to clear the deck for an emergency landing. No one is truly at fault for it, and his actions may have saved Bill's life. Chambers was helping pull Bill out of his ruined fighter when two more fighters made a crash landing, one of them detonating. He was killed in the explosion. Both gave their lives trying to save a member of the flight crew. Watson, Avery, and Stuart were all working to keep the ships power working. Stuart was killed trying to repair an anti-missile defense laser when a plasma round ripped into the ship, causing an explosion that took his life. His efforts provided vital defense against the missiles that were slowly crippling the ship. Watson was killed trying to reroute power to the main battery, to allow our ship to clear a retreat path. When we fired the main cannon, the eventual power surge exploded several power relays and capacitors, Watson having just jury rigged a damaged one in time. He was still in the power corridor and was killed by an exploding relay, but his jury rigged relay prevented the ships engines from losing power during the surge. Avery gave his life keeping one of the ships fuel cells from detonating and destroying the entire ship. When the cell began to destabilize, it filled the compartment with radiation. There was no time to put on a radiation suit, but he rushed in anyway, knowing he was going to die. He managed to bring emergency containment fields online before the cell could overload, saving the entire ship. Every one of these men gave their lives to save those around them, which brings me to the sad truth of Savanah Galloway's death. She was never given a chance, or a choice in her death. She was killed when the cabin she was in lost pressure, sucking her body out into space. But, over her time on the ship, she did everything she could to help the crew, even if it was simple as providing them with a good meal after a mission. And I will miss every single one of them. I may not be able to tell you every secret was, or what their favorite past time was, but they were my team members, and I saw every single one of them as vital and important to the team as the pilots whom they supported. I can never express how sorry I am that they perished in my employ. If I could have any wish in the world, it would be that they were still standing here with us today. But the cards seldom fall how we want them too, and we can only play with the hand we are dealt. As such, I hope that we will never forget their sacrifice and loyalty, and remember their choices when the hard choices befall us. Farewell, my friends." Every person was riveted to him, the only sound being of the crying of family members. Krystal could feel every person's anguish, but what surprised her the most was that Fox's seemed the most powerful. In a way, it felt as though Fox held himself responsible for all of their deaths. But Krystal could not be sure, because she could not sense past his outer emotions, Fox still blocking her out of his deeper feelings. A new emotion surfaced on the mind of the crowd as people started to notice Will, one of anger. Whispers reached both her mind her ear, all saying the same thing, why is a human here, when they are the ones who took these lives from us. As the crowd started to make their way away, more than one of the family members shot Will nasty glances as he walked over to Mira, where she was crouched over the simple plaque that was Savanah's grave.

* * *

I crouched down beside Mira, placing a hand on her shoulder. The fur under her eyes was wet from tears, but no fresh ones were joining them. She reached up and grabbed my hand with her own before she spoke.

"Hey Will." I smiled at her as she glanced at me, a single tear slipping into her fur.

"You okay?" she shook her head, more fresh tears leaking out.

"No I'm not. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." I shrugged and wrapped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her head up against my cheek

"Don't worry about it Mira. You did have a right to." She let out a faint chuckle. We sat like that until I felt a hand grab my shoulder and jerk me back. Unable to support myself from the sudden harsh movement, I fell back onto my rear, dragging Mira with me.

"And what the fuck are you doing here! You have no right to be here!" the person shouting looked like a male cheetah, wearing a Cornerian Defense Force dress uniform. I moved to stand back up and he used his foot to pin me to the ground. "Stay down, fucking scum. We ought to put you down for good!" Mira shot up, almost shouting herself.

"Hey, let him go!" He gruffly shoved Mira back down, almost on top of the plague.

"Stay out of this you damned mutt!" before he could do more, I shoved up on his foot, distracting him just long enough to be able to stand.

"If you want to hurt someone, hurt me. But you will not lay a finger on one of my team mates." I could feel the anger coursing through my veins, fighting to stay in control of it. The soldier snarled and swung, his palm toward my face. I didn't realize why until it was too late, claws biting into my cheek. But even after the blow, with blood starting to run down my face, I simply looked him in the eye, still standing proud. "It doesn't matter what you do to me, I know what I fight for, it's never changed. My loyalty lies with my team. Even if it pits me against my own kind. So go ahead, strike me as much as you want, I will not fight you because you are not my enemy." He hissed slightly, clinching his fist.

"Your kind are the reason my younger sister is dead!" I shrugged, trying to remain as impassive as possible.

"Be that as it may, but I didn't kill her. I don't stand with my 'kind', as you put it." his fist launched out with blinding speed, slamming into my stomach hard enough to make me double over. But even then, I simply straightened my shirt and smiled at him. "If you are trying to get me to fight back, it wont work. You are not my enemy." The man roared, raising his fist to strike me again, but a sleeved, orange furred arm hooked his arm, just before sending him tumbling away. Before I could say anything, Fox was on top of the feline, a snarl on his muzzle as he held the feline by his collar.

"Let me set this straight. I owe Will my life. So does most of the team, as well as countless Cornerian soldiers. His actions and knowledge has helped pull our forces through this war. I wouldn't care if you were General Pepper himself, you will never strike one of my men. Do I make myself clear?" his voice was cold and menacing, in a way that made even my eyes go wide. The soldier nodded and Fox released him, letting him scramble away. Mira had already rushed to start looking over the cuts in my cheek, but I tried to shove her away.

"I'm fine Mira." She glared at me still trying to wipe blood away from the cuts with her bare fingers.

"Tell that to your bleeding face! You need to go to a hospital, who knows what was under his claws." Fox still hadn't turned to face us, but he was clearly seething with rage.

"Will, go to the hospital. Mira, stay with him." And with that, Fox strode off, still looking like he was ready to kill. I lead Mira to the parking lot, sliding into the driver's seat of the rental car. Mira dropped into the seat beside me, almost instantly speaking.

"What the fuck was with him!? There was no call to attack you like that!" I was already directing the vehicle out of the parking lot as I responded.

"Mira, simmer down. I'm human, on a planet of people being attacked and massacred, by humans. You can't expect anything less." She sighed as I drove off toward the hospital. We were silent until I was parking in the building's parking garage when I broke the silence.

"So, do you have something nice to wear tomorrow?" she stared at me with a shocked expression on her face, her eyes flicking between my eyes and the still bleeding gashes along my cheek.

"How can you be thinking about tomorrow? I mean, the brother of one of our friends just attacked you, you have blood running down your face, and you are asking me about a stupid date!" I felt almost deflated for a second, but I shoved it off, speaking fears that up until we had returned to Corneria, I had no reason to feel.

"Because I'd rather think of the good in my life than the bad. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, and it will only get worse as more news of the genocide happening on Katina gets out. I've lived the past year and a half thinking about the bad. It's about time I started just living again." I was staring down at the steering wheel as I spoke, almost ashamed of saying it. When I looked at her, her face was full of shock, her mouth open ever so slightly. Her voice was very soft when she finally responded.

"Yes, I have something nice to wear. Are you sure about this?" I nodded and smiled, her voice lightening as she opened the door. "Well, let's go get you patched up. Can't look that shabby for that date tomorrow, now can you?" she winked at me and I smiled before following her into the hospital.


	28. Chapter 28: The Ambassador's Daughter

Mira paced back and forth outside the Star Fox HQ, fully aware of the number of people staring at her in the silvery dress. She soothed out a wrinkle that had developed over her stomach, the same region that currently felt like removing itself from her body. She did one last check of the way her hair was situated by looking at the reflection of herself in the glass. And she barely recognized herself. Her long bangs had been braided back and intertwined over her neck, holding her hair comfortably back from her face. It was also thoroughly brushed and cared for, leaving it unusually smooth and delicate looking, nothing like the usual slightly frizzed look she had acquired as a pilot. Her eyes quickly slid over the rest of her, from the long dress, almost hiding the thin silver heels she was wearing, the elbow length gloves, even the small white handbag Krystal was letting her borrow so she still had her ID card and wrist computer on her.

"I look totally ridiculous." She jumped slightly when Will responded behind her.

"I think you look beyond what words can describe." She blushed and turned around, not even really looking at him before she hugged him. She backed off, unable to stop smiling. The gashes on his face from the previous day now looked like scars and nothing more, a mixture of his insane healing and modern medicine. A state of the art 3D tissue printer had sealed the wounds, leaving the four scars now crossing his cheek. His healing meant the bond formed without issue and within minutes of the procedure, where most people took a few hours for it to solidify. He was wearing a military uniform that was similar in cut to the Cornerian dress uniform, but the top was deep blue, the legs a slightly lighter shade. And unlike it's Cornerian counterpart, it was worn with dress shoes, rather than tucked into boots, leaving the pant legs straight and crisp. A brown leather belt wrapped around his midsection, over the blouse, with a gold buckle holding it in place. On his right side was a leather holster that looked like a centuries old design that she could see the shape of a pistol in it, but was totally covered by the leather. On his left, was a long saber that curved slightly near the point, in a black leather sheath with ornate silver capping on either end. The sword itself looked like actual hardened metal, with a fairly simple guarded hilt. The buttons on his jacket were also gold, with two silver I's that she knew were his rank pinned to the collar, one on either side. A cluster of medals were pinned over his heart, all of which she knew nothing of. Almost all of this had a Cornerian counterpart on their formal uniforms, with the exception of the hat. His hat was what humanity called a Beret, deep crimson in color and with an image of an eagle on a shield over his right eye.

"Wow, not bad yourself Will, but what's with the sword and the pistol?" he smiled and glanced down at them, almost hap-hazardly.

"The sword is an old military tradition. Was dropped for a while, but the brought it back for officers. Just a few centuries ago, officers carried swords into battle, and this was very similar to the uniform they wore. The pistol holster comes from a similar tradition, although I don't own the proper weapon to put in it." he shrugged before he continued, holding his arm out to her.

"Well, shall we?" she smiled and nodded, linking her arm in his as they walked back to the car he had rented. He opened the door for her, and she couldn't help but giggle. She was silent all the way to the restaurant, her jaw dropping when she got there.

"Um, how did you even get reservations to _Solstice_?" Will smiled at her, sliding the car into a parking space.

"Well, when your boss's mentor knows the owner on a first name basis, it tends to be easy to procure late reservations." He quickly shut off the car before walking around to her side and opening the door for her, smiling at her.

"Well, tell Peppy thanks for me. Oh wow…" her voice dropped off, her eyes riveted to the architecture in front of her. The main lobby was massive, with long spiraling strips splitting off and leading up into the sky, where the restaurant itself was. This strips bowed inward at the center, giving the building an interesting shape to say the least. The top was almost like a giant rose, only it was able to flower open to reveal the gorgeous night sky to those inside. It was currently open, light spilling out of it, but it was too far away for her to hear if there was music playing or not. She knew from a documentary she had once watched that there were several dance floors near the top. The building was one of the tallest in the city, and had survived the Aparoid attack completely unscathed. She didn't get long to admire the building as she walked with Will, their arms linked together. Inside the lobby were several ponds and dozens of statues, all ornately carved out of stone. Most of them being rather accurate scantily clad members of the various races, usually dancing or sitting with a companion of their race. Small benches and chairs filled the empty space as well as several bars, all actively running. There was very soft and soothing music being played by a live orchestra in the center of one of the ponds, seeming to be perfectly set for quiet conversation. In the dead center was a large circular bar with a cut in that lead to the massive glass elevator up to the restaurant. Her mouth fell open slightly, unable to stop admiring the absolutely gorgeous surroundings around her. And so many of the faces she saw laughing away with friends, or family she had seen on the TV's as actors and politicians, both active and retired. "Wow" the one soft word slipped out of her mouth of it's own accord.

"Well, I'm glad _you_ like it." she looked at him in total disbelief, almost about to laugh at his clearly uncomfortable expression.

"What, you don't like being anywhere fancy?" he grumbled under his breath, making her laugh. "Well, where would you prefer to be?" he shrugged, glancing down at his immaculate uniform and running a hand over it.

"I honestly would much prefer somewhere small, semi dirty, and wild. In case you hadn't noticed I'm not exactly the most up tight of people. Although, I would never say no to a good movie though. Or spending the day on a beach, camping, ya know, the usual outdoorsy stuff." She giggled, barely noticing the questioning looks they were drawing. "Especially if it deals with firearms." She outright laughed at that, not even caring that it was likely very unladylike.

"How did I know that would com…" her voice froze, as well as most of her body, when she noticed a human sitting with a couple of brilliant red vulpine's. Whoever the woman was, she was fairly dark skinned, with jet black hair and extraordinary light green eyes. If she had to say, it was the most beautiful human she had ever seen. And she seemed to notice Mira and Will at the same time that Mira had noticed her. Will gave her a puzzled look, about to speak when the woman slipped gracefully out of the chair, seeming to glide over to them. Her voice was very soft, but powerful, managing to turn the heads of several people in the vicinity.

"It cannot be! William Hawkins, here!" he looked at her and was instantly blushing, seeming to shrink right where he was.

"'ello Naseeba." He was looking almost more at his shoes than the woman in front of him, earning him an amused chuckle from her.

"Really? Is that how you great all of your old friends?" Mira was glancing between the two of them, completely bewildered.

"Um, wait, Will, who is this?" he looked her in the eye, but the woman was already speaking, politely holding her hand out to Mira.

"My name is Naseeba Ayoub. Myself and William here were fairly good friends several years ago. If I may, who are you miss?" she accepted the hand shake, gently shaking the woman's delicate fingers.

"Mira Marshall. Will's girlfriend and wing mate." Her eye's widened at that, but her response only raised Mira's confusion.

"Oh, Will, when did you become a pilot. Last I heard, you were a foot soldier?" he shrugged finally looking the woman in the eye.

"After I was discharged, I took to stunt flying on Corneria, then jumped to merc work with Star Fox. What are you doing here?" she smiled casually gesturing back at the two vulpines she had been with.

"Oh, while my mother was here, I became very good friends with the Phoenix family. Their son in particular. I wish he was here tonight, but he has been working day and night since the war started." Mira's jaw dropped yet again, taking a second look at the Vulpine couple Naseeba had been with. They were talking amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at the three of them.

"wait, you didn't leave when your mother's ambassadors duties were up?" she nodded and continued, Mira content to just listen.

"Yeah, and the Phoenix's said I could stay with them. I wanted to work and have my own apartment, but they wouldn't hear any of that. do you want to join us for dinner?" Will's attention turned to Mira a broad smile on his face.

"Well, that is up to my date?" Mira smiled and shrugged, not really caring.

"Why not? I wouldn't mind meeting some famous people." Naseeba seemed to jump with joy at that, beckoning them to follow her.

"That is wonderful, come, I'll introduce you." She suddenly turned, her face sad as she spoke directly to will.

"I'm sorry about Amanda Will. Your father went to my mother when you unit was killed, so um, I'm sorry. She was a wonderful woman." Will just smiled and the second Naseeba turned away, a single tear slipped down his cheek. She gave him a reassuring bump, earning her a small smile and a kiss on her cheek, making her blush. She was very surprised when the two vulpine's smiled to them, the female directing her smile almost entirely at Mira.

"Who are you friends Naseeba?" she smiled, resuming her previous seat as she spoke.

"Ray, Lilianna, this is former Lieutenant William Hawkins, and his…" she hesitated slightly, clearly unsure what to say. "Wingman, Mira Marshall. Will, this Raymond Phoenix and Lilianna Phoenix." Lilianna spoke up first, her voice soft and sweet.

"Wingman? You two are pilots then, yes?" Will nodded as the two of them exchanged handshakes with the Phoenix's.

"Yes Ma-am. We're members of the Star Fox team Ma-am." A grin burst across the woman's face. However, a scowl formed across her husbands.

"Oh! Our daughter was very close with Fox during their early years. We lived next door until James past away." Her husband suddenly butted in, the scowl intensifying.

"It was that boy's reckless nature that drove her out of our family!" the woman rolled her eyes, gesturing for us to sit.

"Oh, non-sense. Fara left the CDF because they wouldn't give her a combat position. Anyway, I would love if you joined us for dinner! A human fighting for Corneria, it must be very interesting to talk to you!" Mira smiled and listened, losing track of time as the vulpine talked away, asking Will question after question until a waiter came to collect them.

* * *

Fox slipped through the door into the HQ, the sound of the TV instantly grabbing his attention.

"This statement was made by the leader of the once esteemed Star Fox team after a blatant attack on Cornerian second Lieutenant at his sisters funeral. The Human responsible for this act of violence was 'unavailable' for comment, but police believe he had fled the scene. This same Human was arrested almost a month ago for contacting what is believed to have been an orbital platform in the Sol system. He was released with no charges levied against him even though he confessed to it!" he recognized the conference room the female anchor was sitting in, a widely viewed weekly show on the Cornerian News Network that had experts speaking on the various news of the week.

"I wont stand for this blatant slander toward the Star Fox team. They are heroes, every one of them! My contacts within the frontline troops have shown over and over that Star Fox has been saving Cornerian lives since the start of this war, the human member included. And what you failed to mention Marie, is the fact that the funeral was for members of the Star Fox team that had perished. If I am going to believe any statement of the events from yesterday, it will be the one made by Fox McCloud." The female anchor was instantly retorting, causing Fox grunt and look to see who was watching. Krystal and Katt were sitting together on the couch, facing the screen, both with disgusted expressions on their faces. Saber was visible in the kitchen, cooking up a meal. Fox quickly decided to plop on the couch next to Katt, speaking to both of them as he did so.

"Anything important that I missed?" Krystal barely glanced at him as she spoke, a scowl still riveted to her face.

"Not really. The Senate has been passing laws by the dozen against humans. It's barbaric. Almost to the point that they can be arrested just for buying groceries at the store. It's disgusting." Katt spoke up before Fox could respond, actually looking at Fox.

"And they have been running one hell of a smear campaign against us, and other mercenary groups, but there's even a whole movement to ban the use of mercenaries. Their fucking rally cry is 'Death to Star Fox'. It's all just a load of bull shit." Fox grunted, watching as the news finally transitioned to the latest fashions some celebrity or another was wearing today.

"I just don't get it. we fight to protect them from a genocide and the thanks we get is a movement against us? Have I ever told you how much I hate people?" Katt laughed, causing Krystal to raise an eyebrow at them.

"Only about thirty times every date we went on." Krystal's expression intensified as Katt spoke, Fox instantly wanting to explain.

"We dated for a while when Falco left the Star Fox team. It was for what, six months? And I don't even think we kissed." Katt shook her head, pipping up before Krystal could.

"No, once. You were just too drunk to remember." Fox's shoulders slumped as Krystal giggled at him.

"Are there any girls on Star Fox you haven't dated?" he glared at her, which only broadened her smile.

"The only Star Fox members I have dated are you and Katt. That's it. now can we just turn this shit off or something. I don't want to see it right now." The TV had changed to a story of the current operation on Katina, showing images of one of the mass graves that had been found. Krystal turned it off, already responding.

"So what are we supposed to do then?" Fox grinned, slipping off the couch and hooking up the game console under the TV. The decade and half old machine had been his since he was a kid, and one of the last gifts he had gotten from his father.

"Do something we haven't done in a while, you game?" Krystal and Katt winked at each other with a maniacal grin as he passed them controllers.

* * *

Mira smiled as she leaned back, her plate completely devoid of food. Will's was equally cleaned, both of them having a human style steak dish that she had to admit was absolutely amazing.

"So, you bought yourself a Mark six. Gotten to try it yet Lieutenant?" he shook his head, politely wiping any remnant of food away from his face with a napkin. Her eyes wandered again, having taken very little part of the conversation, to the absolutely gorgeous decor around her. There were staircases on the petals that, when open, guests could walk out on and look out over the city, as well as four fairly good sized dance floors patrons could dance at if they so chose.

"Yeah, haven't gotten the chance to play with it though. I'm hoping it isn't too different from my M Thirty-Two." Her eyes flicked back to the table, catching Mister Phoenix's smile.

"I hope so. It was a human weapon that inspired me with the design. I believe it is a pistol known as a revolver?" Will nodded and grinned, still sitting perfectly straight in his chair.

"That sounds like it. My dad has this police issue revolver from the nineteen twenties, um over two centuries ago, and it still functions. We don't fire it, hell no, but it is still technically in working condition. He keeps it in a glass case." The Vulpine seemed genuinely impressed by this, taking a drink from his wine.

"It's hard to imagine a weapon surviving that long, and still remaining serviceable." Will smirked, taking a drink of his own wine.

"Yeah, we didn't buy it, I can tell you that. It was passed down our family. My dad had it appraised after he found it amongst grandad's stuff. Boy was he surprised when he discovered it was worth almost six hundred thousand dollars. That's about four hundred thousand Liat." Even Mira's eyes went wide at that, a faint wow slipping out of her mouth.

"Well, I think this is right, but I am going to reimburse you for the rifle. It's only fair, with you risking your life for us every day." Will was instantly protesting, but his voice was silenced by Missus Phoenix.

"I grow tired of sitting here. Dear, do you mind if I walk the terrace?" He smiled and waved her off, still arguing with Will about the money he payed for the weapon. "Naseeba, Mira, would you two care to join me?" Mira nodded, sliding her chair back and following the two other women. "I'm sorry to drag you away like this, but I'm sure you two would mind spending the night speaking of firearms and warfare." Mira smiled, saying the first thing since ordering her meal.

"Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of that subject. Firearms only if I'm firing them. Although, Will doesn't usually speak of firearms all that much." Naseeba laughed at that, instantly speaking up.

"You're kidding me right?! That is all he ever spoke about in school! Well, that and Amanda. They stopped at one of the balconies overlooking the city, a stunned look on her face.

"Well, yeah, we have brushed the subject of Amanda and his platoon, but mostly, he just flirts with me and asks me about my life. Or joke with each other." Naseeba rolled her eyes, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"I used to have very strong feelings for him. I've known him since we were like three, I think. My mother and his father were high school sweet hearts, and they stay in touch. When ever his father deployed, he would leave him at our house. I am glad to see that a human-Cornerian relationship can work though." Missus Phoenix instantly spoke up, a sly smile on her face.

"You don't mean to tell us that you have fallen for a Cornerian, do you?" Naseeba's blush went from faintly red to pure scarlet in the space of a second.

"I um, no! I haven't! I merely meant that it is good to see that relations between humans and Cornerians are not totally destroyed!" Mira leaned forward to get a better view at Naseeba, a similar sly smirk on her face as the vulpine beside her.

"I know you have fallen for my son Naseeba. Have you forgotten my degree in psychology?" she was stumbling to speak, causing both Mira and Missus phoenix to laugh.

"Anyway, Missus Phoenix, if you will, what do you think of myself and Will's relationship?" she almost wished someone had stomped on her foot right then, instantly regretting the question.

"Please Mira, call me Lilianna. I believe he has a very strong attraction to you at the very least. He may have been speaking to us, but his attention has been entirely on you this whole time." Mira couldn't help but smile looking off at the lights below her, a smile creeping onto her face. "And, given his clear discomfort at this formal atmosphere, he clearly brought you here only because he believed it would make you happy in some way." Before Mira could respond, Naseeba was speaking up.

"Yeah, he has always hated formal functions with a passion. I kept dragging him to them as my escort until we left for Corneria." Mira's grin broadened, unable to really contain it. Suddenly a new voice joined them, one that was unmistakable for Mira.

"Do you two mind if I steal my date? I'd like to see if I still have those old dance skills." She instantly spun around, just in time to see him wink at Naseeba.

"Oh, there is no stealing me involved. Cant steal what's already yours." He rolled his eyes, locking arms with her and leading her out to one of the dance floors, where a slower but more energetic music was being played by another live orchestra.

* * *

Fara trotted onto the bridge of the Wolfhound, unable to keep her tail from wagging when she saw Wolf in his command chair. She slithered over to him and slipped over the arm of the chair, dropping into his lap.

"Hey lover." Wolf rolled his eye at her, giving her cheek a quick peck.

"Hello Fara. Can I ask a favor of you?" she smiled at him, tickling behind one of his ears. He was clearly fighting the urge to react to it as she responded.

"Always lover boy." As she spoke, he finally broke down, a laugh breaking out of his muzzle as he squirmed away from her fingers.

"Hey, cut it out, please!" she could still hear the mirth to his words, knowing that the only reason he wanted her to stop was to keep up his tough guy persona. "I need you to go to Corneria, get Fox on board for me. I feel like he would shoot me on sight." She finally stopped tickling him and pecked his cheek.

"On one condition, lover boy. You, have to come with me." He growled at her, making her bat her eyelashes at him. When he continued to growl, she leaned forward and whispered into his ear so no one else could hear her.

"Think, several days, maybe even a full week, of having me all to yourself. Clothing…. Optional." She kissed his cheek and he glared at her, a smile forming on his muzzle.

"Fine. I'll come with. Beautiful." He winked and kissed her back.


	29. Chapter 29: Farewell to Star Fox

Krystal rolled her shoulders as she stepped out of her room, trying to stretch some of her sore muscles. She had been sitting around reading a human book series for most of the day, Will having brought it to them out of storage. It was a little awkward to read, given Fox and Peppy were the only ones actually able to read English, but a translation screen and an awkward position had been letting her read them. Inside the main room, she found Fox, Will, Saber and Falco playing on Fox's old game console. Both Falco and Saber were pouting, their controllers in their laps. Two of the boxes on the screen had red lettering on the screen proclaiming them as KIA. Meanwhile, the other screens showed a tiny interceptor and a larger multi-role craft whipping though a chaotic fleet battle, the multi-role tight on the interceptor's tail. She slipped up behind Saber and Will, leaning on the couch behind them

"So what's going on?" Saber smiled to her, giving her muzzle a quick peck.

"Me and Will against Fox and Falco. Fox totaled me in like two seconds. Falco got killed by Will while Fox was chasing him. Fox has been on his tail this whole time, still hasn't gotten him." Falco growled beside them, causing Krystal to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Will only beat me cause he's lucky. I almost had that fucker!" Will was instantly speaking up as he put his fighter on the screen through a very intricate maneuver that looked more like a stunt than anything else, but it got him onto Fox's tail.

"You kiss your momma with that mouth bird boy?" Krystal couldn't help but giggle at Falco's angry retort that followed, Saber regaining her attention.

"So, what did townsend say about your wrist?" she glanced down at it and shrugged. It had been almost a week since they got here, and the wrist had shown signs that it was starting to heal itself.

"It's healing, slowly. Townsend thinks I'll only need the brace for a couple more weeks." Saber grinned at her, kissing her on the lips this time. She smiled as a wave of euphoria washed over her.

"That's great Krys." She nodded as he broke off the kiss to speak. The two of them returned to watching the game, just in time to see Fox narrowly dodge a missile, his shields gone and health critical, managing to fire his own back at Will and see it connect, destroying Will's ship.

"Aw, dang, good game Fox, good game. I would've beaten you if it was Halo though." Fox raised his eyebrow at Will about to respond when the main door to the lobby opened, Mira striding in. Will was instantly on his feet, dropping the controller into Krystal's hands. "Mira! Do you want to go out for a movie tonight?" she had a bag of groceries in her arms and froze for a second when Will spoke, giving him the chance to reach her and kiss her cheek before she could really react.

"I… um, sure! Why not!?" he took the groceries from her and set them on the counter, leaving Mira standing by the door, her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. Will trotted back over, his t-shirt, cargo pants, and ever present blaster a little odd to see for Krystal, having grown used to him wearing a leather jacket everywhere.

"Let's go." And with that, they disappeared right back out the door.

"Ya know, I think they've spent less time at the HQ than anywhere else. I almost never see them." Krystal nodded at Saber's words, dropping the controller onto the couch.

"What do you say to taking a walk, maybe hitting the bar on the way back?" Saber grinned and dropped his controller beside hers on the couch, standing and stretching before walking with her out of the HQ, into the dying light of the day.

* * *

Mira smiled as she walked out of the theater with Will, practically hanging off his arm. She rested her head up against his shoulder, feeling his lips brush up against the top of her head. She closed her eyes, simply letting him guide her.

"What do you say we stop by the bar, get a few drinks?" she smiled and opened her eye's to look at him, seeing his eyes focused squarely on her.

"Sure, why not?" she watched the movement around them as they walked, simply happy to be with him. Her occasional glances to him told her that he felt some sort of unease, his eyes darting to every person that past, his free hand hovering over the grip of his sidearm.

"Something wrong?" he shrugged still not looking at her as he responded.

"I don't know. Just have this feeling that someone is watching us." She nodded and tried to relax, but now that he had said it, she found that she was constantly checking over her shoulder to see if someone was following them. They reached their usual bar without any incident, slipping inside and up to the counter, where Mira was startled to see a very drunk Krystal and Saber, who seemed a little buzzed but no more.

"Hey guys, didn't expect to see you two here." Mira smiled at them as Will spoke, Krystal almost fell over as she turned around to face them, a glass of liquor in her hands.

"Oh, heeey guys. How was the movie?" she was swaying even though she was braced up against the bar.

"It was great. I'm surprised that Will wanted to see a chick flick though." She elbowed Will playfully in the ribs as she spoke, forgetting about the injury there. He cringed, letting out a subtle gasp of pain. "Oh I'm sorry Will!" he just smiled and waved it off, speaking as he did so.

"Just twanged a bit. Shouldn't you be getting her home Saber? She looks a bit, um, tipsy." As he spoke, Krystal sloppily took another drink, nearly sloshing the liquid across her front.

"Um, well, I tried. She doesn't want to leave." Will rolled his eyes, grabbing Krystal by her arm as he spoke.

"Come on Krys, let's get you home." She instantly struggled and protested, weakly pulling against Will's arm.

"But I don wanna gooo!" Mira raised an eyebrow at her, just before a fist suddenly flew out from behind Will, slamming into his jaw and knocking him away from Krystal. For a second, she thought it was Saber until she realized that it was a burly Lupine, his fur nothing but midnight black. The only spot of color were his eerie red eyes, seeming to glow softly in the dim light of the bar.

"What the hell was that for?" the lupine looked at the group, his eyes sliding between each of the members.

"I think I found myself some Foxes." He spoke much louder, to the bar at large as he continued. "Did you hear me boys! We have ourselves some Foxes! Death to Star Fox!" as he said that last word, he took another swing at Will, but Will clearly saw it coming, side stepping and elbowing the Lupine in the ribs before swiping his legs out from under him. She didn't get time to see more as a Swine took a swing at her, forcing her to duck under it. A quick pair of jabs into his gut staggered him back, but only for a second. The swine was instantly lunging forward, easily picking up her small frame and slamming her into the ground, pinning her in place. She struggled against the massive swine, his horrific breath making her almost puke.

"Ohh I courd have fun with you little lady!" his thick deep voice was barely audible over the struggle going on around her.

"In your dreams pal!" she kneed him in the groin and rolled out from under him. As soon as she was on her feet, she kicked at the swine with all her might, rocking him on the floor when a new voice shouted.

"All of you, cut this shit out before I throw you outta my bar!" the bartender had pulled a shotgun out from under the counter, aiming it at the group. Krystal was up against the bar, clutching the side of her head. Will and Saber had positioned themselves on either side of her, guarding her from the three canines and the Lupine that had started the fight. "Now all of you, get the fuck out of my bar!" Mira stepped over the swine to the others, Will's voice breaking the silence between them.

"Are you okay Mira?" she nodded, seeing the bruise already forming on his face. "Alright then, let's get back to the HQ." he led the way out, Saber supporting the now half-conscious Krystal, Mira bringing up the rear. He took their usual route, cutting through a back alley. Before they were even halfway through it, the same lupine from the bar stepped out in front of the exit, one of the canines beside him. But what her eyes focused on, was the blaster rifles in their hands.

"You are surrounded, if you surrender now and come quietly, I'll be sure to be gentle with you." Her eyes flicked back behind her seeing the other three from the bar, the swine on point with a shotgun, the two canines flanking.

"Yeah, fuck you two buddy." As Will said that, he snapped his blaster out of it's holster and fired, blasting the canine beside the lupine, the lupine ducking the shot. As soon as he had fired, he was diving up against the wall, Mira following suit. She felt something rip past her thigh as the swine's shotgun fired, blaster bolts ripping past from the other two shooters. Will pounded a pair of bolts into the swine before shouting again.

"Run!" she sprinted toward the exit, hearing Will's blaster fire a couple more shots before a red bolt ripped past from in front of her, the lupine having stepped out of hiding. For a second, she though the bolt had been aimed for her, until she heard Krystal's blood curdling scream.

* * *

I fired two more shots past the canines, their pig like companion bleeding on the ground. I smirked and turned to run for it when the Lupine stepped around the corner, firing a single round at us. It whipped past me, having punched clean through Saber's chest, Krystal and Saber dropping from it. Krystal screamed as she caught herself with the broken wrist, Saber's body eerily limp and motionless. I ran to Krystal as I snapped the last two rounds at the vulpine, one flat out missing, hitting a passing car, the other hitting the lupines thigh. My hands instinctively reloaded as I shouted at Krystal.

"Come on, lets move!" I felt Saber's neck, looking for a pulse, only to find nothing. Red plasma bolts ripped past and I fired back with one hand, using the other to rip Krystal onto her feet. We sprinted past the wounded lupine, a kick from Mira knocking the pistol he was reaching for out of his hand. I ducked and weaved through the now screaming crowd, more red bolts ripping over my shoulder. A woman was hit square in the chest, another in the leg as we ran, Mira almost stopping to help them, only following because of me grabbing her arm and dragging her along. The bolts were getting closer, so I suddenly stopped and spun, firing two well aimed shot's into one of the canine's chest. He was blasted backward, the Lupine and the final canine stopping to check him for a pulse. I took that as a chance to drag the other two into a store front, dragging them behind a counter. Krystal was sobbing out loud, forcing me to ram a hand over her mouth as I peeked over the counter. There was no sign of the assailants, but I saw a Cornerian police officer, setting my weapon on the counter and shouting at the top of my lungs.

"In here!" as soon as I had stood, Krystal began sobbing again, screaming about leaving Saber. "We have wounded!" I shouted that as soon as one of the cops entered, finding myself staring down the barrel of his pistol. My hands shot into the air.

"Stay where you are, you are under arrest!" I was instantly shouting back, keeping my hands up.

"I… We're innocent! They attacked us and I returned fire! Nothing more!" the cop seemed to totally ignore me as he spoke into his radio.

"I got three suspects, need back up to detain! One human male and two females!" more cops rushed into the store, putting all of us in hand cuffs, earning a shriek from Krystal as they gruffly rammed her broken wrist into the cuffs without a single care. I cursed as they grabbed my weapon off the counter and forced us out into the street, cramming all three of us into separate squad cars.

* * *

Fox rushed into the police building, unable to calm the worry in his body. He rushed right up to the clerk, speaking before the female clerk could.

"My name is Fox McCloud, I'm here as legal counsel for William Hawkins, Mira Marshall, Krystal, and Damon Saber." He hoped his ploy would work, although, with the amount of legal hoops he had jumped through in his lifetime, he probably would make a decent lawyer. The clerk tapped at a few keys, looking up at him with a bored expression.

"We have no Damon Saber on file, and the other three, the request for legal counsel has been denied." Fox felt anger boiling up in his veins, wishing he had his blaster on him.

"Denied! Only the defendants can decline legal counsel, and I highly doubt you just asked them!" she closed off her screen, resuming her bored demeanor.

"Under Article fifteen of the New Defense act, all human terrorists and their accomplices are allowed only the counsel provided by the state, and article twelve clearly states they are not allowed visitors. Have a good day Mister McCloud." He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to slam his fist on the counter.

"They are not terrorists! They are members of my team! We've been fighting on the frontlines since day one of this war, for the CDF! I have all of the legal paperwork to prove it!" he tapped a few keys on his wrist computer, pulling up hologram's of all of the legal paperwork, the electronic stamps all up to date.

"Article seven states that all humans involved in criminal activity on Corneria or her allies is a terrorist until proven guilty." Fox closed his eyes, still trying to remain calm as he spoke again.

"What. The. Fuck. Are you talking about!? What happened to due process!" she leaned back staring at Fox with a slightly less bored expression.

"I told you Mister McCloud, no outside legal counsel is allowed for human terrorists. That is the law." Another voice joined them, Fox hearing the faint click of a safety being flicked off.

"Put your hands on the back of your head, now!" Fox was slowly complying when yet another voice joined them, this one extremely familiar and oddly calm.

"Put that weapon down officer. Or do you guys want another gun battle on your hands." Fox slowly turned around to see Winters and half a squad of soldiers, weapons raised at the various members of the police that raised their weapons. The police officer pointed his weapon skyward and the soldiers all relaxed. "Now what's this I hear about a group of war heroes being detained?" He marched clean past Fox past the counter and toward the cell block. An officer stepped in Winters way as Fox began to follow.

"Sir, you are not allowed back there! That is the detention center!" Winters simply fingered his weapon, the two soldiers beside him tightening their grips on the rifles.

"Do you really want to try to stop me?" the officer stepped out of the way and he signaled for Fox to follow him. They stepped into the detention center, passing several cells before they found one that had Will, Mira, and Krystal in it. Mira had Krystal's brace off, gently manipulating her wrist, which from here Fox could see it was deformed. Will was the first to notice that group, instantly stepping up to the energy field and speaking.

"Captain Winters, Fox! Wow, you two are a sight for sore eyes!" the captains grim expression turned Will's smile into a frown.

"What the hell happened Will?!" he sighed, starting to pace back and forth as he spoke.

"We got attacked! First, in the bar, then in an alleyway on our way back to the HQ! This midnight black Lupine was leading them! I… Fox, they got Saber. He's dead." Fox cursed, but Winter's quite voice was what startled Fox.

"Midnight…. Here….." he seemed lost in thought for a second before he shouted at one of the guards. "You there! Let them out of this cell, now!" the guard hesitated and he shouted again. "I said now! By my authority as the commander in charge of Corneria's Defense, open this cell right now!" the guard scrambled to do as he said, the energy field over the cell dropping so Fox could slip inside. "Now go get me the detective in charge of this case, now!" the officer rushed off as Fox stopped at Krystal and Mira, fighting the urge to puke at the deformed section of skin over her wrist. He couldn't imagine the pain she was in right now.

"Her wrist is totally shattered. She needs a hospital, now. We kept telling them that, but they wouldn't listen!" he nodded, and looked Krystal in the eye, seeing the mass of tears that were still leaking out.

"Are you okay Krys?" she looked away, closing her turquoise eyes.

"She hasn't spoken since Saber." Fox nodded and gently grabbed her arm, getting her to stand up and follow him. As the group reached the end of the detention block, Winters half turned to them and spoke.

"First, to all of you, it's commander now. Second, go straight back to your HQ, stay armed, and stay vigilant. Someone has put one hell of a bounty on your heads, and someone has been picking off any leadership in support of the continued use of mercenaries. Third, I need an image of your missing team mate, so I can check the morgue. If I have any questions for you as I investigate this incident, I will send a squad. Move." Fox nodded, confused at the once friendly soldiers sudden change in personality.

"I'll keep them there commander. Can you send some medical staff over?" he nodded and turned deeper into the station, a soldier leading them out to an armored vehicle.

* * *

Midnight dragged the limp lupine corpse by the foot, using one hand to toss the body on the floor of the command bridge of the Verham cruiser he had brought it too.

"I got one of the Star Fox members. The others got away. This was your fault Oikonny!" the primate turned his command chair around, smiling. The chair was raised up, almost like a throne.

"How so?" the lupine snarled, already speaking.

"You are the one who said to attack while the human was around! The human was armed, and killed two of the men you sent with me!" Oikonny smile only broadened.

"You accomplished more than I thought. I believed you would be killed by the human. But you have proven to be a more valuable asset then I was lead to believe. You see, my plan was to merely have Star Fox detained under the new law, but I like your effect better. Our enemies will cease to see Star Fox as invincible, especially if we publically broadcast this, things, death. You will be payed, handsomely. In the meantime, keep an eye on them. You may leave." His claws dug into the palms of his hands, wanting to rip the white furred primate apart. "Yes, this will do quite nicely. Horace, go fetch me my nephew. He has an announcement to make." Midnight gave the white furred primate on more puzzled look before the elevator door sealed, whisking him back to the hanger.

* * *

Fara slipped through the crowded streets, glancing at the holographic map she had displayed on her wrist computer before she pressed onward. Her fingers closed the display as she reached her destination, only to find the Star Fox HQ surrounded by a whole platoon of armed foot soldiers, keeping the side walk outside clear of all civilians. She approached the building, only to have two soldiers to intercept her.

"Stop, no one is allowed past this point!" Fara let her shoulders slump, resting a hand on the curved grip of her blaster.

"Look, I know you are doin your job and all, but I got business with Fox McCloud. He's an old friend." The two soldiers raised their weapons, aiming at her chest.

"We don't care who you are, no one goes in that isn't on the schedule." She smiled warmly to them, brushing a few rouge strands of her vibrant red hair out of her eyes.

"so? Look, my name's Fara Phoenix, go have that pigheaded pea brain up there look out the window, and he'll tell you to let me in." the two soldiers glanced at each other before one of them activated his radio, his conversation lost behind his faceplate.

"They said to let you up, but we are taking that." The soldier stepped forward, yanking the blaster out of her holster. She glared at them and walked by, slipping into the building and pressing the proper floor button. After a few seconds, the elevator doors opened into the head quarters lobby, just a small space with a single door and an unmanned desk, which she stepped past and entered the main space of the HQ. She instantly recognized Bill, who had been waiting by the door.

"Well I'll be damned, the crimson vixen herself is here. I thought that was you outside" She smiled, pulling her old friend into a hug.

"Been too long Bill, where's Fox?" a brown haired human spoke up from one the couches, his eyes never leaving the screen he was playing an old and very familiar game on.

"He's in Krystal's room. She's, going through some rough stuff." She was about to speak when his game was suddenly cut off, an image over riding the screen that took over every screen in the area, even playing off their wrist computers. On the screen was an unmistakable thin, white furred ape, his pink skin flushed a brilliant scarlet. Although unmistakable, he had changed since the last time Fara had seen an image of him, his arms and legs replaced with cybernetics, and a scar crossed his face, right over his left eye and down his cheek.

"Behold, we have slain one of the beloved Star Fox members! Nothing is safe from our wrath! All of you will watch the world burn around you!" as he spoke, he stood, tossing the limp corpse of Saber down a flight of stairs leading away from a chair that looked suspiciously like a throne. "Fox McCloud, it is only a matter of time before you and your precious team will have fallen!" as he finished that statement, the video cut off, leaving the room stunned. The human was the first to speak.

"So those men were bounty hunters hired by Oikonny. I need to look over my notes again." He shot off the couch, slipping past Fara and down the hall to the bedrooms. A feline vulpine quickly followed.

"Bill, show me where Krystal's room is." He nodded and gestured for her to follow him.

* * *

Fox sat at the end of Krystal's bed as she sobbed into her pillow, the sight of Saber's corpse being tossed aside by Oikonny permanently burned into his brain. He slid over to Krystal, gently pulling her up against his chest. Surprisingly, she didn't protest, simply continuing to sob into his shoulder. The door slid open and he looked up, only to be shocked by who was standing in the doorway. Fara looked as beautiful as the last time he had seen her, her vibrant red hair running almost to her tail, held back by a set of goggles being worn like a head band, a few rouge clumps still falling around her face. That along with her thin vest, tight long sleeve shirt, cargo pants, and holster were the only things that seemed different about her since he had seen her on Macbeth almost a decade ago. He let go of Krystal, standing up without realizing he had done so.

"I… Fara, what are you doing here?" she smirked slyly, not even looking at Krystal.

"I need you to come with me. I found someone you _need_ to talk to, Fox." His jaw moved without words coming out until he finally managed to squeak something out of his muzzle.

"I… uh yeah. Lead the way." He followed her out of the room, both of them silent, all thought of Krystal having evaporated. He nearly walked right into Will as he stepped out of his room, a datapad in his hands.

"Where are you and new gal going?" Fara answered for him, her soft voice seeming to tease him with every word.

"_The Waterway Paradise_. It's a little café not far from here. Friend of mine recommended it." will held up a finger, darting back into and coming out with his rifle slung over his shoulder, strapping the pistol rig on as he moved to follow them.

"Not on your own. We are hunted people now." Fox grunted and the trio left the HQ. One of the guards handed Fara her pistol, and even though they clearly wanted to protest, the assault rifle over Will's shoulder seemed to stop any thought of protest. They walked for barely fifteen minutes before slipping inside the café, sitting in a corner booth well away from windows. Fox was just about to speak when a pair of figures slid into the booth, one lanky white furred primate, and one massive grey lupine, one eye glowing an eerie red under it's glass plate.

"Glad you came, Fox." His hand dropped to his blaster, only to find that Fara had snagged it, holding it like a trophy.

"Cant let you do that foxy." He snarled at both of them but stopped when Will's hand touched his shoulder. He looked at them human, seeing the scarily calm expression on his face.

"I know who you are. You too Dash Bowman, but what I don't know, is why you are here. If you don't want your muzzles turned into smoking craters, you better start talking." Wolf barely glanced at him with a small smirk, his focus centered on Fox.

"This war is one massive set up. The Andross remnant and the Mohamad's army banded together to start this war. The attacks on Cicero and New York were done by those two factions. I want your help to expose that, and end this meaningless war." Fox's mouth dropped open, unable to stop it.

"You were right Will. I cant….. you were fucking right this whole time!" Will's voice spoke before anyone else could, very quietly.

"What do you mean, New York?" Wolf sighed, already speaking.

"New York was flattened by a fleet of Cornerian cruisers. Twenty-three million people were killed there." Will cursed aloud as someone turned up a TV, gaining the attention of the whole group.

"…Just passed into law a bill that will stop all funding of paramilitary organizations, effectively removing these dangerous groups from our military forces. I take you live to Prime Minister Muzzin's speech." The image changed from the female reporter to the thin suit clad lupine that held the highest political office in the Cornerian government. He licked his lips in an almost greedy fashion before his magnified voice rang out.

"Today, we make history! No longer will we win wars by use of hired guns! No longer will we look up to these barbarians as heroes! Now is the time that we take back our homes, our lives, and our safety, with our own power! We will not fall to the savages of the Sol system, but rather, they will crumble before the might of Corneria!" his words ended in a thunderous amount of cheers, Fox leaning in closer to the others before he spoke.

"I'm disbanding the Star Fox team, then grabbing our remaining fighters to join you with. Will, I want you and Falco with me. Maybe Katt or Bill too. No one else knows, got it?" he nodded and fox sighed, a tear slipping out his eye. "I guess it's time to say farewell to Star Fox."

* * *

"Just where do you think you are going Fox?" He spun on the spot, finding him face to face with the vibrant blue vixen. He mentally kicked himself, hoping he wouldn't be going through this confrontation.

"Look, Krystal, I'm sorry, I have to leave. Wolf and Fara are giving me a chance to end this war, I have to take it." she sighed closing her eyes as fresh tears slipped out.

"And why don't you bring me? You know I will follow you into the depths of hell Fox." His eyes dropped to his feet as he responded.

"You're injured Krystal. I cant bring you. And we only have four ships. You know Falco wont let me go without him. Will and Katt are coming too." Her eyes opened, flicking up to the objects he had slipped into sheathes under his pack.

"Saber left that sword to you. Why are you taking my staff as well?" he tried to smile, unable to muster the emotion to.

"I thought Will might be able to make use of the sword. And Krystal, promise me something? Don't try to go out and fight. I had Peppy lock out the Great Fox's systems. He's not going to unlock them. So please, just, stay safe?" she nodded, Fox being able to feel her sadness seeping through to him.

"Only if you do the same Fox. Stay safe." He nodded and turned away, moving for the elevator. He stopped when he heard her mumble to herself, barely able to hear her words. "I don't want to lose you too." He sighed, knowing that she had already closed the door to her room, but spoke aloud anyway.

"You wont lose me Krystal. Not if I have anything to say about it."

* * *

I stuffed clothing into my duffel bag, the rifle case and my flight gear already laid out on the bed. I smiled as I grabbed the wooden model Mira had given me, just before securely sliding it into one of my pouches of the flight vest. I nearly jumped as the door opened, seeing Mira enter. She saw the duffel bag and equipment and a single tear slid down her cheek.

"You're leaving aren't you?" I sighed and nodded, sealing the duffel before I sat with her on the bed.

"Fox doesn't want me to tell you this, but I was right. This war needs to be ended, and we are leaving to do just that. I cant tell you where, but, well, remember this. I'm not giving up on us. I am coming back for you, okay?" she nodded, more tears slipping out of her eyes. "Which leads me to something I need to ask you. May I use your fighter? Otherwise, we will be short one." She smiled and nodded, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Of course Will. Um, here." She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt, pulling out a small wallet sized photo. Katt had taken it shortly before I had joined the team, framing Mira's smiling face off the balcony, the sun setting behind her. I smiled when I saw it, sliding it safely away in my wallet. As soon as I finished, I pulled off my dogtags, sliding them over her head. She had a shocked look on her face as I did so.

"What are you doing Will?" I smiled at her, wrapping my arms around her. I couldn't help but cry, knowing this was likely one of the last times I would ever get to see her.

"To remember me by. And to prove that my goal is to come back. Take care of those for me, okay?" I felt her nod, moister dampening her fur.

"I will. Promise me you won't do anything reckless while your way?" I smiled and leaned away from her, staring into her sapphire eyes.

"You know me Mira. Reckless is how I live." She rolled her eyes and I kissed her. It felt like an eternity before the passionate kiss ended, resting my forehead on hers afterward. She silently helped me strap on my gear on, handing me the bulky case that held my unused rifle in it. I grabbed an adhesive tube out of the desk before I gave her one final kiss goodbye. "I love you Mira." She smiled, even though tears were flowing uncontrollably out of her eyes, her kitten like voice drifting across the space almost like a breath on the wind rather than words.

"I love you too Will." I barely managed to retch my eyes away from her and walk into the elevator. Fox, Falco, and Katt were all waiting for, Fox with tears in his eyes. I wiped the moister away and smiled, letting a hint of sarcasm seep into my voice.

"Well boys, let's go catch us some bad guys." Katt glared at me, Fox wiped away his tears, and Falco simply nodded, leaving me to press the button and close the doors leading back to what had become my home.


	30. Sequel Announcement

this is just an announcement of the Sequel, Star Fox: The Shadow War! it is now up on fan-fiction, so please, go enjoy!

PS the chapters in deception with new content are Friendship and loose threads, i believe.


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